MIAMI GARDENS - Jon-Eric Sullivan spent the weekend tearing through the Miami Dolphins’ roster, and he wasn’t in the mood to soften the edges afterward.
After cutting nearly half the players in training camp, making two trades that brought in a backup quarterback, leading the biggest waiver-wire dive of any general manager, and building out a practice squad, Sullivan made it clear the Dolphins were chasing upgrades wherever they could find them.
“It’s always about getting better,” he said. “If you deem something is not good enough, then you have to address it.”
When Sullivan learned Miami had landed seven players off waivers - more than any other NFL team - he framed the flurry as part of a broader push to fix what wasn’t working.
“If we sit on our hands so that it’s comfortable, then I’m not doing my job as a general manager,” he said. “ … We’re in a unique spot. We had to do some things in the spring that are unprecedented and so there’s cause and effect to everything you do.”
He addressed a handful of roster decisions in a half-hour with reporters, and the most surprising one came at inside linebacker. Miami waived last year’s starter and defensive signal-caller, Tyrel Dodson, and moved forward with second-round pick Jacob Rodriguez instead. Sullivan said Dodson handled the news professionally, even if the decision stood out.
“T-Dod showed up, he was a pro, he competed,” Sullivan said. “It’s a very fair question, like, ‘Why would you move on from T-Dod?’ But I think it really just highlights how we feel about the young guys on the team.”
Dodson reportedly is joining Carolina's practice squad.
The quarterback shuffle was just as direct. Sullivan said the Dolphins effectively moved on from backup Quinn Ewers and brought in Kyle McCord after Green Bay deemed McCord expendable.
“This is a performance-based business and it was not getting done at the level that it needed to get done at,” Sullivan said. “Quinn knew that.
We had a lot of conversations. I think Quinn, if he was standing right here, would tell you that.”
Sullivan said McCord fit what Miami wanted in the room.
“I’ve always been a fan of his. I feel like, when you watch the kid play, he’s a ‘keep the train on the tracks’ kind of guy.
I think he processes the game quick. I think he throws an accurate, catchable football.”
He also talked up the three receivers he drafted - Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas and Kevin Coleman - while noting Bell’s recovery timeline was longer than the Dolphins had hoped. Bell, coming off last season’s knee injury, was not expected to be ready for the preseason finale last week.
“Our expectation was him probably getting back after the bye,” said Sullivan, referring to the weekend of Oct. 18.
Sullivan said Douglas “needs to be more consistent,” Coleman “has all the things that you want to see in a young receiver” and Bell “is different, man - guy’s 220, 228, 230 pounds and can run.”
At running back, Sullivan said Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II need to help spell De’Von Achane so the Dolphins can protect his workload and keep him fresh.
“The other two got to step up so that we have faith in those guys to spell Achane and feel like we don’t drop off.”
He closed by praising guard Kadyn Proctor, Miami’s top draft pick, saying his power shows up immediately when he locks on and drives defenders backward.
“And moves people off the ball, it looks different than everybody else. And he presents Malik (Willis) with a very firm pocket.”
In Other News...
Former Dolphins Just Put Miami's Roster Depth Back In The Spotlight
Cutdown day around the league sent a few familiar names back onto the market, and it quickly turned Miamis roster depth into a live conversation again. Several former Dolphins who had landed with new teams were let go as clubs trimmed to their initial 53-man rosters, putting wide receiver Trent Sherfield, defensive lineman Emmanuel Ogbah and linebacker Elandon Roberts among the available veterans who once filled important roles in South Florida.
The most intriguing name for Dolphins fans may be cornerback Kader Kohou, whose availability adds another layer to Miamis secondary picture. With the roster always subject to late tweaks this time of year, the possibility of a reunion is the kind of back-end move that can tell you a lot about how the front office views its current depth and whether it wants more insurance before the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins May Have Finally Fixed Their Backup Quarterback Problem
The Dolphins spent the week reshaping the bottom of their quarterback room, moving Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville for a 2028 sixth-round pick while also waiving Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski. In return, Miami brought in Kyle McCord from Green Bay for the same kind of draft compensation, a swap that gives the team a more defined pecking order behind starter Malik Willis.
McCord is expected to handle the primary backup role, which is the part of this story Miami has been trying to settle for a while. For a team that wants stability if the starter has to miss time, the move at least gives the Dolphins a clearer answer, even if the real test will come only if Willis ever has to watch from the sideline. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Fringe Roster Decisions Just Put Several Jobs On Notice
The Dolphins got through the first major roster cutdown with the kind of urgency that always makes this time of year feel like a deadline and a tryout rolled into one. Led by general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley, Miami trimmed the roster from 91 players to 53 as it starts shaping its 2026 squad, with the initial group giving the team a first look at how the depth chart is taking form.
Even with the first 53-man roster in place, this still feels more like a checkpoint than a final answer. Miami plans to keep working the waiver wire and the free-agent market before Week 1, which means some of the players who survived the first cut are hardly safe, and a few others who missed out could still find their way back into the mix before the opener. [Read more 🡒]