Tag: Bryce Sterk

Just one year ago, the Miami Dolphins were far and away the least talented roster in the NFL. That will come when you have a fire sale to kick off a new rebuilding effort that puts priority on manufacturing salary cap space and hoarding draft assets — knowing full well you’re not going to be a competitive ball club in the year to come. And the Dolphins would go on to spend the majority of the season churning through the weekly waiver wire — hoping to strike gold and transition someone else’s trash into their own treasure.

These days, the Dolphins are a different story. No, the team’s rebuilding effort isn’t complete — not by a long shot. But suddenly the Dolphins are seeing their own discarded players plucked off the waiver wire by other teams; meaning Miami now does have some depth that makes players expendable that other NFL franchises deem worth investigation and, possibly, investment.

As an NFL general manager, there’s no better problem to have than too much talent. And that’s an issue the Dolphins have hardly known anything about for the past decade; especially when you consider that when the team has struck gold, they usually haven’t been able to retain them long-term.

But when the Dolphins announced the release of UDFA tight end Bryce Sterk and defensive back Steven Parker, it didn’t take long for other teams to pounce on Miami’s discarded players. Sterk landed with the Cincinnati Bengals, whereas Parker landed with the Minnesota Vikings — a team favored by many to win the NFC North this season. Dolphins cuts, claimed by a potential playoff team?

Indeed. Let it serve as a compliment to the job Chris Grier has done to remodel this roster in short order.

The Miami Dolphins have had a busy 24 hours in roster transactions. First, the team announced they had signed DL Brandin Bryant and claimed CB Breon Borders off of the waiver wire — and now the team has several more transactions to announce, including the corresponding cuts as the team adds yet another defensive back to the mix.

The Dolphins announced this morning that they have signed cornerback Deatrick Nichols and waived safety Steven Parker and tight end Bryce Sterk.

We have signed CB Deatrick Nichols and waived S Steven Parker and TE Bryce Sterk.

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 13, 2020

Sterk was an undrafted free agent who signed with the team in the aftermath of the 2020 NFL Draft, but the departure of Parker is a bit more surprising. Parker was one of the players who signed with the Dolphins shortly ahead of the start of the 2019 season — he’s been with the team for just about a year now and he logged some significant snaps with Miami over the course of that time. Parker logged 338 snaps (30%) on the year for Miami last season and in doing so logged 4 starts.

But Parker, along with Sterk, have clearly fallen victim to the numbers crunch NFL teams are currently in as they try to balance their rosters and ensure they’re maintaining the integrity of their locker room amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Cuts must be made earlier than usual and for Miami to make this decision in the here and now indicates the team got all of the evaluation it needed last season from Parker to know he’s probably not going to be a long-term fit in the secondary.

The addition of Deatrick Nichols is an interesting one, he himself was a UDFA out of South Florida but his play shined last winter as a member of the XFL — he led the dormant league in interceptions before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down operations. The former 3-star recruit hails from Miami, he attended Miami Central High and stayed in the Florida region despite offers from schools like Auburn, Clemson and Georgia. The Dolphins will hope his ballhawking skills can translate to their secondary as the team continues their search for the right mix of defensive backs for the 2020 season.