The Miami Dolphins’ massive influx in talent courtesy of the NFL Draft was always going to have heavy hitting implications on the rest of the Dolphins’ roster. For some, it marked the introduction of a new competitor who will challenge the status quo of who is a starter for the Dolphins. But for these four unfortunately players, the 2020 NFL Draft marked the end of their tenure with the team.
The Miami Dolphins announced this past weekend that they were releasing the following four talents off of their 90-man roster to help accommodate for all the new incoming talent:
- LB Terrill Hanks
- DB Montre Hartage
- RB Samaje Perine
- LS Taybor Pepper
Dolphins waived LB Terrill Hanks, S Montre Hartage, LS Taybor Pepper and RB Samaje Perine to make room for their draft class and UDFAs.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) April 26, 2020
The team’s decision to part ways with each of these players isn’t overly surprising. Hanks and Hartage were 2019 undrafted free agent additions who struggled to garner playing time throughout the course of the 2019 season. Perine was a late waiver wire addition. The only significant contributor of the group was Pepper — who unseated long-time veteran LS John Denney last year and served as the team’s designated snapper.
Pepper’s doom was assumed, however, when the Dolphins drafted another long snapper in the 6th-round of this year’s NFL Draft, targeting Blake Ferguson of LSU with the 185th overall selection. With a pick invested in that specific of a position, Pepper was as good as gone.
Now, the Dolphins will look to transition from talent acquisition to coaching — a unique challenge that the team must undertake starting this week with their virtual offseason program, a new concession granted to teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.