Dolphins worked out other punters before signing Sterling Hofrichter

They landed on the former seventh-round pick.

The Miami Dolphins are always looking to improve their roster, and while they’re currently in the midst of their first training camp under new head coach Mike McDaniel, that’s still the case.

Earlier in the week, the Dolphins waived undrafted rookie punter Tommy Heatherly and signed Sterling Hofrichter to take his place in the competition with 14-year veteran Thomas Morstead.

According to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, Hofrichter worked out for the team alongside two other punters – Dom Maggio and Matt Mengel.

Mengel recently spent time in the USFL, winning Special Teams Player of the Week at one point, as he has the ability to kick off, kick field goals and punt. During the season, he averaged 40.5 yards per attempt with over 45% of his punts being downed inside the 20-yard line.

Maggio was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Ravens in 2020, but he joined the Atlanta Falcons during the 2021 offseason. With the Falcons he actually competed with Hofrichter for the starting job, but both players ended up on injured reserve.

Maggio was eventually signed back to the practice squad in Atlanta in November when Morstead was their punter at the time.

Now, with Hofrichter on the roster, he’ll try to beat out Morstead and earn a spot on the 53-man, but he could also carve out a practice squad role.

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Dolphins waive P Tommy Heatherly, sign P Sterling Hofrichter

Thomas Morstead has a new opponent.

NFL rosters during training camp are ever-changing, and that sentiment remains true for the Miami Dolphins.

On Friday, the team announced that they’ve waived undrafted rookie punter Tommy Heatherly and have signed third-year punter Sterling Hofrichter. Not much had been heard from Heatherly during training camp, but that’s to be expected when the team already holds a strong veteran option at the position in Thomas Morstead.

Hofrichter was a seventh-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 out of Syracuse. As a rookie, he played in all 16 games, averaging 42.5 yards per punt attempt and handling some kickoff duties. In 2021, he played in two games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, averaging just 37.8 yards per attempt.

Morstead will now have his battle for his job with Hofrichter, but it’s clear that the veteran is the favorite.

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2022 Dolphins position preview: Breaking down specialists ahead of camp

Miami can’t have the same performances.

The Miami Dolphins had an extremely busy offseason between the firings and hirings of head coaches, game-changing trades and impactful free agency signings.

This time in between minicamps/OTAs and training camp is a great opportunity to assess the state of Miami’s roster at each position before they hold true competitions at the end of this month and into August under new coach Mike McDaniel.

We’ve talked about quarterbacksrunning backswide receiverstight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen and linebackers, but now it’s time to jump to the third phase of the game and discuss the specialists on the roster.

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