With the Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver room as banged up as it currently is, one would think opportunities would be ripe for any receiver on the roster who is capable of making a splash if afforded the chance. Add in the draft history of receiver Antonio Callaway as a fringe top-100 pick several years ago and there was an easy assumption to be made that the former Florida Gators receiver would help Miami bridge the gap between their Week 15 contest with the New England Patriots and the return of their healthy players.
It didn’t turn out that way.
Not only was Callaway a non-factor for the Miami Dolphins in their 22-12 victory over New England, the team announced last night that they had waived Callaway all together, ending his tenure with the team team after just a handful of games of availability.
We have waived wide receiver Antonio Callaway.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 21, 2020
Callaway had been working on the practice squad for the early portions of the season while serving a suspension for past transgressions and only became available for the Dolphins to dress midway through the year. His stay in Miami ended after five games and two receptions.
If a career reclamation wasn’t going to happen for Callaway in Miami during a time in which Lynn Bowden Jr, Mack Hollins and Malcolm Perry served as the primary wide receivers, it is pretty difficult to envision one happening at all. The Dolphins have been known to take these kinds of low-risk players on — they tried the same thing in 2019 with Robert Nkemdiche and Mark Walton, too. Neither one of those materialized for Miami either; but the thoroughness of the Dolphins’ search should be credited for at least being open to talents who may simply need a second chance to make their playing career stick.
Callaway will be bunched in with the others who were unable to do so — and the Dolphins must presumably feel good about their chances of returning some receivers to the game day availability as a result.