Tag: Isaiah Prince

Should the sunk cost of a pair of recent draft picks worry Dolphins?

Should the sunk cost of a pair of recent draft picks worry Dolphins?

The Miami Dolphins’ rebuilding effort is just over 18 months old. This team is, in the grand scheme of things, still it its infancy. But despite the relative newness of everything that the Dolphins are undertaking with Chris Grier and Brian Flores at the helm, there are mulligans this team probably wishes it had already. One is the handling to the Minkah Fitzpatrick saga, although at the end of the day Fitzpatrick was a bad attitude and clearly thought he knew better than his coaches. So be it.

But Miami has an NFL Draft trend developing too — not the kind that you want, either.

For the second consecutive season, the Miami Dolphins will see a member of their rookie class fail to make it to the end of the season on the roster with the team. The Dolphins cut rookie DE/LB Curtis Weaver on Monday afternoon after it was discovered he’d suffered an injury and yesterday we learned he was claimed off the waiver wire by the Cleveland Browns. Weaver, who was a 5th-round pick in April’s draft, will not see a single snap for the Dolphins.

2019 held a similar fate for 2019 6th-round pick Isaiah Prince, who at least had the chance to play in a few games for Miami last season. Prince played 82 total snaps for the Dolphins before the team had seen enough and cut him in December of 2019.

Is this a troubling trend for Miami? The team only made 6 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, nearly half as many as they made this past April. Can they afford to be coming up completely empty handed with some of these picks?

No one can. But, given the law of averages, literally everyone does. There is so much volatility in the back half of any NFL Draft and the expectations for 5th- and 6th-round draft picks should be a few years on the roster, tops. Sure there are exceptions to the rule. Miami just happened to see themselves draw unfortunate results on two picks outside the top-175 in Prince and Weaver. But also bear in mind this is a two-way street and Miami got WR Preston Williams and CB Nik Needham for no draft pick at all.

Ideally, Miami’s roster would still have their 2019 6th-round pick and their 2020 5th-round pick on it. But Miami apparently saw enough in both to know these weren’t players that needed to be highly coveted.

Former Ohio State lineman Isaiah Prince to opt out of NFL season due to COVID-19

Former Ohio State and current Bengals offensive lineman Isaiah Prince has decided to opt-out of the NFL season due to COVID-19 concerns.

We are starting to hear from NFL players that don’t want to risk playing a contact sport amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The NFL and other sports have taken a no-penalty type stance on any player that doesn’t feel comfortable playing in these times — and so far at least — we’ve not seen any of the mega superstars from the NFL opt-out.

However, there is a former Ohio State player that doesn’t believe it is worth the risk to play this season in the NFL. Former Ohio State left tackle Isaiah Prince has decided to not participate in the 2020-2021 NFL season due to concerns over the novel coronavirus. The announcement came from the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday.

Prince would have been entering his second year in the league. He was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft but waived in December, then claimed by the Bengals. He will get a pay advance determined by his risk level and will keep his contract and status with the Bengals into 2021.

There are now more than 30 NFL players that have joined the growing list of players deciding to opt-out of the upcoming season. Prince is the first former Buckeye to do so.

Fast facts to know about new Bengals OT Isaiah Prince

Get to know new Bengals OT Isaiah Prince.

The Cincinnati Bengals claimed offensive tackle Isaiah Prince on Friday, adding another Ohio State product to the offensive line.

Here are a few fast facts to know about the newest member of the Bengals.

Background: Prince is a 6’7″, 310-pound lineman from Maryland who played high school ball at Greenbelt (MD) Eleanor Roosevelt, where he was a three-time All-Washington D.C. Metro pick.

College: Prince attended Ohio State and was one of four true freshmen to play. He shifted from right to left tackle before ultimately earning a first-team all-conference pick in 2018.

What experts said about Prince’s draft stock: While projecting him as a fourth or fifth-round pick, here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote: “Prince will get touched up in scouting circles for what he can’t do, but he’s made strides in his pass-protection technique that warrants a deeper dive. He’s not a natural knee-bender so his pad level — and therefore balance — will always be concerns, but his length can become an effective weapon in pass sets if a coach can get his hands timed up. He’s a right tackle-only with leverage limitations, but there are enough flashes to project him as a backup with eventual starter potential as a middle round pick.”

What experts said about Prince’s draft stock, Pt 2: The Draft Network graded Prince as a Day 3 pick: “A three-year starter for Ohio State, Prince has some intriguing tools to work from. His length, functional strength and ability to get depth in his kick slide are likable traits. With that said, he needs to cleanup some body control issues that stem from issues with posture and antsy feet while also operate with better leverage. Prince has developmental appeal and has improved throughout his career for the Buckeyes, but more technical improvements are needed for Prince to stick at the next level.”

Drafted: Sixth round, No. 202 by Miami, where he played in four games, starting two before getting waived so the Dolphins could claim a different position on waivers.

Coach Talk: Here’s Dolphins offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo after Prince got some regular-season action: “He did some good things; did some things that need to be worked on, like all of them. I don’t think he had the best game that he’ll have in his time in the NFL, but I think for the first time out there he did an admirable job. He’s got a bright future. He’s an extremely talented young man. He’s just got to keep working like all the rest of them.”

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Bengals claim Dolphins rookie Isaiah Prince on waivers

The Bengals added rookie Isaiah Prince on waivers Friday.

The quest to improve as the offseason approaches continues for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Friday afternoon the Bengals claimed Miami Dolphins rookie guard Isaiah Prince off waivers. The team will announce the corresponding move at 4p.m. ET.

Prince, 22, was a sixth-round pick by the Dolphins this year out of Ohio State who appeared in four games, starting two. The team needed roster space after claiming Zach Sieler on waivers and appeared to hope it could slip Prince back onto the practice squad.

The Bengals had other plans clearly and inherit another young Buckeyes product alongside Billy Price and Michael Jordan.

Given the rotating door at guard and the lack of depth at tackle, the move certainly makes sense. If Prince doesn’t get playing time this year he’ll be in the mix over the offseason at what could classify as Cincinnati’s worst unit.

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Miami Dolphins cut 2019 draft pick Isaiah Prince

The Miami Dolphins have cut rookie offensive tackle Isaiah Prince.

The Miami Dolphins have refused to let the upcoming end of their 2019 season lead to complacency on the personnel front — quite the contrary. The Dolphins have made a handful of roster moves over each of the last several days, and on Thursday made one more in announcing the team had cut 2019 rookie OT Isaiah Prince. The decision to cut Prince may surprise, as he was a 5th-round draft selection by the Dolphins just this spring.

The expectation for Miami, provided no one files a waiver claim on Prince throughout the day to day, is that the Dolphins will sign him back onto their practice squad once the rookie clears waivers.

General manager Chris Grier’s every move remains under the microscope and watchful eye of fans who are concerned if he’s the right man to invest the Dolphins boatload of draft picks — a late-round draft selection cut before the end of his rookie season should provide those fans with nothing to worry about. Miami’s patience with Prince, who was going to be a project for any NFL team based on his college film, would feature a longer leash in a perfect world — but the Dolphins aren’t in typical circumstances. Their hunt for talent must cover all fronts and so when a developmental tackle can’t dress for two thirds of the Dolphins’ games this season, it is time to churn the roster.

And churn the roster the Dolphins have, this marking the fifth departure from the team in the last three days. Don’t expect to see Prince make it far, however. Odds are he clears waivers, winds up back on the practice squad for the remainder of the season and will be on Miami’s 90-man roster to open training camp again next summer.

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