It’s been widely known that Connor Williams is planning to be the starting center for the Miami Dolphins when the regular season starts, but at this point, there’s not much behind him.
Last year’s starting center, Michael Deiter, is dealing with a foot injury that’s kept him out of practice, leaving Cole Banwart and Adam Pankey as the only players taking reps behind Williams in the middle.
On Sunday, the Dolphins worked out three centers – Cohl Cabral, Jake Lacina and Cole Toner, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. This follows a practice in which Pankey had a few poor snaps and while Williams has been struggling that department as well, they can’t have multiple players failing to get the ball to the quarterback.
Cabral was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and has bounced around to the Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints since then. He has yet to play in a regular season game.
Lacina spent the spring in the USFL, playing for the New Jersey Generals. He was part of an offensive line that helped gain the most yards on the ground per game (160.6) in the league. In the NFL, Lacina was once on the Vikings, but he’s never played in a game.
Toner may be the most familiar name of the group, considering he was a fifth-round selection back in 2016 out of Harvard. Originally selected by the Arizona Cardinals, Toner spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots during his first two seasons before finding a landing spot with the Los Angeles Chargers for three years. He spent last season with the Houston Texans and has played in 13 NFL games, starting three of them.
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