Tag: Patrick McMorris

Dolphins place rookie S Patrick McMorris on IR, re-sign Blake Ferguson

Blake Ferguson is back, but rookie safety Patrick McMorris will be out of action to begin his NFL career.

Miami Dolphins rookie safety Patrick McMorris was placed on the injured reserve Thursday morning.

McMorris, 22, is now slated to miss at least four games in his rookie year, but — barring injuries in the secondary — it may make sense for the Dolphins to keep the sixth-round pick on the IR.

For one, the Dolphins are allowed to bring a maximum of eight players back from the IR in a season. Two of those designations are expected to be used to bring back wide receiver River Cracraft and cornerback Cam Smith, who landed on the IR on Tuesday. Additionally, the Dolphins can only carry 48 active players on game days and there’s not a significant need for McMorris with four veteran safeties on the roster.

McMorris impressed in the Dolphins’ preseason debut, receiving a 73.2 grade from PFF against the Atlanta Falcons. On four targets, McMorris was credited with allowing only nine receiving yards.

The Dolphins used the roster spot freed up by the McMorris transaction to bring back long snapper Blake Ferguson. An expected move, the fifth-year specialist was released Tuesday as a procedural to move to open an additional roster space for two days.

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Dolphins reportedly signing former Jets, Saints safety Marcus Maye

The Dolphins are reportedly adding veteran safety Marcus Maye to the mix in their secondary.

The Miami Dolphins are addressing their lackluster safety depth by signing veteran Marcus Maye, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.

Maye, 31, spent the first five seasons of his career with the New York Jets after he was picked in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft by the team. He started 60 games with the team before joining the New Orleans Saints as a free agent in 2022 on a three-year, $28.5 million deal.

While Maye only played two seasons on that contract, he was released after starting 17 games with the Saints. He finished 2023 on the team’s injured reserve due to a shoulder issue and served a three-game suspension earlier in the year due to a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The Dolphins have a rising star at safety in Jevon Holland, but it’s been a revolving door next to him in the secondary. The team plugged DeShon Elliott into the starting lineup on a one-year deal in 2023 and signed Jordan Poyer earlier this offseason to take over in 2024.

Behind the starting duo of Holland and Poyer, the Dolphins have veteran special teamer Elijah Campbell and sixth-round rookie Patrick McMorris who will compete with Maye for snaps.

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Dolphins sign Jaylen Wright, 4 other draft picks

The Dolphins got most of their 2024 NFL draft class officially under contract Tuesday.

The Miami Dolphins announced contracts for five of their seven 2024 NFL draft picks Tuesday morning.

Running back Jaylen Wright, pass rusher Mohamed Kamara, wide receiver Malik Washington, safety Patrick McMorris, and wide receiver Tahj Washington are all under contract now. Only first-round pick Chop Robinson and second-rounder Patrick Paul remain unsigned.

The Dolphins’ decision to wait until June to begin signing its 2024 draft class wasn’t surprising as the team had limited salary cap space until Saturday when Xavien Howard officially came off the team’s books. With an additional $18.5 million at its disposal, Miami likely won’t wait long to get Robinson and Paul under contract too.

All five players signed Tuesday were taken on the third day of the 2024 NFL draft. Wright was selected first of the group with a fourth-round pick that was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Dolphins’ 2024 offseason program will wrap up this week with a three-day mandatory minicamp that runs from Tuesday to Thursday.

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WATCH: Highlights of Dolphins 6th-round draft pick Patrick McMorris

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier says members of the coaching staff were begging him to draft Patrick McMorris.

The Miami Dolphins entered the 2024 NFL draft without much safety depth on the roster. While they have a rising star in Jevon Holland and signed former Pro Bowler Jordan Poyer to start alongside him, the only other safety on the roster last week was Elijah Campbell, a career backup and special teamer.

So the team amended those issues by picking former San Diego State and Cal safety Patrick McMorris in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

McMorris, a two-time All-Mountain West selection during his time at SDSU, finished his collegiate career with 11 tackles for loss, six interceptions, two forced fumbles, and 252 tackles.

“[McMorris] was a player that the coaching staff and scouts have kind of identified, focusing on,” Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Saturday. “So they were blowing up Mike [McDaniel] and I here before that pick like, ‘Get this guy. Get this guy.’ And they appreciate how he’s a smart player, he’s competitive, and plays hard.”

Those qualities show up on his highlights:

Patrick McMorris thought the Dolphins were a spam caller so he hung up

Dolphins sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris immediately hung up on the team when they called him Saturday.

Every prospective NFL draft pick waits for their phone to ring with a team on the other line. But when the Miami Dolphins called up Cal safety Patrick McMorris to tell him he’d be taken with one of their sixth-round picks, he immediately hung up.

“I’ve been getting spam calls, and I thought this was just another one because I picked up and nothing went through for a couple seconds so I hung up,” McMorris told reporters Saturday.

Fortunately, he was ready to pick up when the Dolphins gave his number another try.

“The whole phone call, it’s just so surreal,” McMorris said. “You watch it on TV, you watch these guys get picked year-in and year-out seeing those videos of them getting the call. Now you’re being in that moment, it’s definitely a crazy experience.

“It was a dream of mine to get drafted and be able to play in the NFL. So just kind of continuously living out that dream, it was definitely an exciting moment.”

Amazingly, McMorris wasn’t the only draft pick to hang up on the Dolphins on Saturday. The team’s very next selection, USC wide receiver Tahj Washington, was so excited to celebrate with his family that he hung up before general manager Chris Grier could pass the phone to head coach Mike McDaniel.

McMorris was a two-time First Team All-Mountain West selection during his time at San Diego State. After transferring to Cal for the 2023 season, he recorded an interception, 4.5 tackles for loss, and sack and 90 tackles for the Golden Bears.

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Instant analysis of Dolphins’ No. 198 overall pick S Patrick McMorris

The Dolphins needed depth at safety and addressed that by adding Patrick McMorris to their secondary.

The Miami Dolphins had Eric Rowe and Brandon Jones at strong safety in 2022. Last season, they brought in DeShon Elliott for the role on a one-year deal. Earlier this offseason, the Dolphins signed 33-year-old Jordan Poyer to a one-year deal.

While Miami has a rising star at free safety in Jevon Holland, the team hasn’t been able to find a consistent player to pair with him in the secondary.

Could sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris be that player?

Most likely, no. Hoping to find a starter in the sixth round is usually a fool’s errand. But McMorris, at the very least, offers depth that wasn’t there for the Dolphins.

Aside from Holland and Poyer, the only other safety on the roster was Elijah Campbell, a former waiver claim who was on the field for 141 defensive snaps last season.

McMorris is a physical safety with the requisite size (6’0, 207 pounds) and intelligence to play the position. While his propensity for missed tackles and his lack of burst and speed are concerning, McMorris is well-positioned to make the 53-man roster as the backup for Poyer.

His path to the roster will be awfully challenging if he doesn’t prove himself a capable special teams contributor, though.

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Dolphins pick Cal S Patrick McMorris at No. 198 in 2024 NFL draft

Could Patrick McMorris be the Dolphins’ solution to their revolving door at strong safety?

The Miami Dolphins selected California safety Patrick McMorris with the No. 198 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Strong safety has been revolving door for the Dolphins. The team brought in DeShon Elliott on a one-year deal to man the position in 2023 and signed 33-year-old Jordan Poyer to a one-year deal for the 2024 season.

McMorris may not have the athleticism to eventually take over a starting role, but he offers the Dolphins another option at the position.

The 6’0, 207-pounder has the size, physicality, and smooth hips required to be a force in the middle of a defense. He’s struggled, however, with missed tackles and doesn’t have the ideal speed and explosion to be a reliable player in coverage.

Still, it’s a good fit for the Dolphins at a position of need and offers a player who could compete for snaps in the Miami secondary.

McMorris is the sixth member of the team’s 2024 draft class after pass rusher Chop Robinson, offensive tackle Patrick Paul, running back Jaylen Wright, pass rusher Mohamed Kamara, and wide receiver Malik Washington.

After picking McMorris, the Dolphins are now scheduled to pick just one more time with the No. 241 overall pick in the seventh round.

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Pro Football Network sends Vikings DB — not QB — in latest mock draft

Cam Mellor of Pro Football Network sends the Minnesota Vikings some defensive help in the first round, and a host of other players in his latest 7-round mock draft

In somewhat of a surprise, Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor is going against the grain with his selection for the Minnesota Vikings and sending them some help in the secondary rather than at quarterback. In his latest mock draft, Mellor has the Vikings selecting former Iowa Hawkeyes cornerback Cooper DeJean with the 11th pick.

Here’s what Mellor has to say about the selection:

Iowa cornerbacks are always going to be pro-ready, and that’s just what Cooper DeJean presents for the Minnesota Vikings. A late-season injury forced him out of the Big Ten Championship, but DeJean should be ready to go by minicamp.

He’s a speedster on the outside with plenty of length and burst. DeJean comes fully equipped with elite ball skills and a special teams ability that rivals everyone in this class.

DeJean is an interesting pick for the Vikings here, especially with how the board fell in this scenario. While the Vikings could certainly benefit from help in their secondary, conventional wisdom would say that quarterback is the more pressing need — especially if Kirk Cousins isn’t going to be back healthy next season.

Mellor continued on after the first round and projected the entirety of the 2024 NFL Draft. Here’s who he tabbed for the Vikings in rounds 2 through 7: