Tag: Avery Moss

Why Dolphins rookie Raekwon Davis is big winner of recent roster cuts

Why Dolphins rookie Raekwon Davis is big winner of recent roster cuts

The Miami Dolphins’ decision to draft Alabama defensive lineman Raekwon Davis was a big surprise back in April. Not many knew what direction the Dolphins were going to go once a slew of running backs dropped off the board between Miami’s selection of Robert Hunt at No. 39 and when the team next came on the clock at 56. That choice was ultimately Davis, who enjoyed a productive and successful career under Nick Saban — but Davis’ ceiling was considered debatable due to a plateau in production over his final two seasons with the Tide.

The Dolphins clearly weren’t concerned. And the team’s confidence in Davis just got a big endorsement in the form of Miami’s decision to cut DE Avery Moss. Moss is listed at 6-foot-3, 270 pounds and started 8 games for the Dolphins last year as a defensive end. By all accounts, he was a modest player, certainly not a stalwart but also not a pushover. His departure doesn’t just open the door for recent signees like Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah to command those reps — when Miami is in odd front looks, Davis can help fill the void as well.

Under Brian Flores, we are likely to see the Dolphins shift and evolve their base front and defensive strategies on a week to week basis. The objective? Neutralizing an opponent’s best asset. That may at times call for Miami to play with four men down on the line, other times three. And when the Dolphins go odd front, Davis is a strong contender to absorb any potential reps that Moss would have vacated. As a 4i or 5-tech, Davis has the length, anchor and linear explosiveness to shine and dictate the line of scrimmage while controlling the B-gap or alternatively to shoot the gap and make a play in the backfield. Moss had similar explosiveness to his game, but it came with 40 less pounds on his frame — making Davis better suited for interior play.

We’ll likely see a slew of formations and personnel groups for the Dolphins by the time it is all said and done. But at the very least the departure of Moss frees of Davis in some of those groupings to show why Miami was so happy to have secured his services back in April.

Dolphins announce they’ve cut LB Trent Harris and DL Avery Moss

Dolphins announce they’ve cut LB Trent Harris and DL Avery Moss

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.

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.

Giants will see a number of familiar faces vs. Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have a roster stocked with several former members of the New York Giants.

When the New York Giants take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday at MetLife Stadium, they will be staring across the field at a number of familiar faces and former friends.

The Dolphins recently signed offensive lineman Evan Brown off of the Giants’ practice squad. Brown had signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and remained with the team until poached by Miami last week.

Brown is only the tip of the ex-Giants iceberg, however.

In addition to Brown, who backs up Michael Deiter at left guard, the Dolphins play a pair of former Giants at defensive end — John Jenkins and Avery Moss.

Jenkins, the starter, was signed by the Giants in September of 2018 and spent that season with the team. He was re-signed in 2019, but waived as a part of final cuts.

Moss, Jenkins’ primary backup, was a fifth-round pick of the Giants in 2017. Like Jenkins, he remained with the team through final cuts in September when he was cut loose after failing live up to expectations.

As Billy Mays would say, “but wait, there’s more!”

The Dolphins don’t just have ex-Giants on offense and defense, but on special teams as well.

When specials are out on the field, the Giants will be seeing a lot from long-snapper Taybor Pepper, who was signed to a reserve/futures contract by New York in January before being waived as a part of final cuts in September.

Finally, Swiss Army Knife Jake Carlock, who is loved by Giants fans and should still be in East Rutherford, resides on Miami’s practice squad.

“Jake’s doing great. He’s really a hard-working kid, plays multiple positions. I think he’s doing a really good job. We were excited to get him, excited to have him and I think he’s got a future,” Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said during a Wednesday conference call. “I think he’s got the talent and the toughness and grit to work on any and everything to make himself the best player he can be. I think he’s done a really good job, and he’s got a lot of room for development.”

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