The Miami Dolphins don’t necessarily have to have their roster trimmed down to 80 players by the opening of training camp, but it seems as though that is the path that the team has decided to take. Miami has made a handful of roster moves over the course of the weekend, presumably with the endgame being to trim their player pool down to the limit of 80. The two most recent cuts are the biggest surprises yet; the Dolphins announced yesterday that they have waived defensive lineman Avery Moss and linebacker Trent Harris.
Dolphins have cut DE Avery Moss, who started 8 games for Miami last season, sources tell me and @AdamHBeasley
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) July 26, 2020
Neither player is overly accomplished at the pro level, so what makes their departures so surprising?
Both players are young and actually have live reps for the Dolphins under their belt. The assumption at this point for NFL teams is that with no preseason, there would be a tendency among teams to favor players who have established resumes with the field and teams would avoid uncertainty.
Apparently not the Dolphins, though. Moss played in 11 games this past season in Miami (starting 8). Harris also played in 11 games for the Dolphins in 2019 (3 starts). Between the two, 601 defensive snaps were logged. Both Harris and Moss now face an unenviable task — finding a new team amid the waves of cut downs beginning across the NFL as teams are prematurely trimming their rosters to help compensate for the COVID-19 pandemic.
While neither may find work, it is worth noting that many of the other players facing cuts at this juncture are UDFAs from the 2020 NFL Draft, so Harris and Moss at the very least will have the benefit of being more established pro options to other teams who may experience an injury or see a player opt out of the 2020 season.