The Dolphins’ preseason ended with a loss to the Falcons, and the final night gave a clearer look at which fringe players helped themselves and which ones still have work to do before Miami trims the roster to 53 by 6 p.m. on Sunday.
For a team in the early stages of a rebuild, the summer has been uneven. Miami had trouble putting points on the board and often looked overmatched, both in games and in joint practices.
With roster decisions looming, the last preseason game was about more than the final score. It was a last chance for bubble players to make a case.
Defensive tackle Fatorma Mulbah didn’t appear to do enough. The undrafted West Virginia product, who signed with the Jets in 2025 before landing with Miami at the start of August, has shown some promise against the run.
Against Atlanta, though, he was on the field for only eight snaps and did not stand out on any of them. Veteran Matthew Butler logged 31 snaps in the same area of the depth chart, and Mulbah now looks more like a practice squad candidate than a player forcing the Dolphins’ hand.
Fullback D.J. Herman left a more complicated impression.
He was on the field for 24 plays, which is a meaningful workload for a fullback, but he also had a costly drop against the Falcons that he needs to clean up. Still, Herman has had a solid camp and preseason overall.
His path to the roster may come down to tight end Ben Sims, who had been working as the first-team fullback before a toe injury. If Sims is out early in the season, Herman could stick.
If Sims is ready for Week 1, Herman may be on the outside looking in.
Defensive end Cameron Goode also likely needs more than he showed. The 2022 seventh-round pick has leaned on special teams value, and that was true again Friday.
He played 17 snaps, had six pass rush opportunities according to Pro Football Focus, and did not record a pressure. He did finish with a special teams tackle, but that probably was not enough to lock down a spot on its own.
The most crowded fight is at safety, where Major Burns, Lonnie Johnson and Louis Moore are battling for what appears to be the fourth spot on the depth chart. Burns, Johnson and Moore all had a chance to separate, but none of them ran away with it.
Burns played 31 snaps, the third-most on the defense, while Moore was in on 23 and Johnson on 17. Burns and Johnson each made two tackles, and Moore had one.
Burns seems to have a slight edge, Moore looks more likely to land on the practice squad, and Burns is the one who currently feels like the best bet to make the 53.
Offensive lineman Charlie Heck may have helped himself the most of the group. Signed to be the swing tackle and a game-day backup at both tackle spots, Heck had been up and down all summer.
Against Atlanta, he played 19 snaps and was solid enough to keep himself in the conversation. He also got some help from the roster math, since Josh Priebe may have played his way off the roster after a rough night at guard and as a backup center.
Priebe played the most snaps on offense for Miami, but the outing may have pushed him back toward the practice squad. That opening could be enough for Heck to stick.
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Dolphins Just Made A Cut That Says A Lot About Their Priorities
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The timing adds another layer to a day that already included a trade of quarterback Quinn Ewers to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2028 sixth-round pick. Between the cap move and the draft-pick shuffle, Miami is clearly treating this stretch as more than a simple numbers exercise, with every transaction hinting at how the front office is sorting priorities before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Just Raised A Bigger Question About Their Quarterback Plan
The Dolphins used the cutdown deadline to reshape a few corners of the roster, and the moves were more revealing than routine. Miami sent wideout Tutu Atwell to the Rams for running back Jarquez Hunter, then dealt quarterback Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville for a 2028 sixth-round pick pending a physical, while also waiving more than a dozen players and claiming two others. On paper, it was a busy churn of fringe roster business. In practice, it also nudged the conversation back toward how Miami wants to build out the back end of the depth chart and where it stands with its quarterback room.
Ewers was never going to be the headliner here, but moving him anyway is the kind of decision that gets attention because it touches the one position teams almost never stop managing. The financial angle matters too, since these kinds of trades can help shape the books while clearing space for other players, and Miami clearly chose flexibility over keeping a developmental arm in house. The bigger question now is what this says about the Dolphins broader quarterback plan, especially with the deadline pressure easing and the roster nearly set. [Read more 🡒]