Kyle McCord’s NFL path has already taken another sharp turn, and this one comes after a preseason that gave the former Syracuse quarterback a real shot to make his case.
The Dolphins acquired McCord from Green Bay for a 2028 sixth-round draft pick, the same kind of asset Miami had just moved in a separate quarterback deal. The move came during a hectic roster reset around the league, with all 32 teams working through the final preseason weekend and the Sunday deadline to trim down to 53 players and start building practice squads.
McCord’s preseason finale with the Packers was the kind of night that gets noticed. In last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals, he played the entire game, threw four touchdown passes - the most by any quarterback in the preseason - and helped Green Bay erase an 11-point deficit in a 42-38 comeback victory. He finished 22-for-35 for 226 yards and those four scores.
For McCord, who is set to make just under the $885,000 minimum for players without an accrued season on an NFL roster, the performance was proof he belonged.
"It's out of my control at this point," McCord told the media postgame last Thursday at Lambeau Field after his 22-for-35 passing night for 226 yards and the four TD tosses. "I did everything that I could've to make a case for myself. And so now we just wait and see."
Miami’s quarterback room has been in constant motion over the past two weeks. Former Liberty QB Malik Willis, now in his fifth NFL season, is lined up to start for the Dolphins on September 13 in Las Vegas. Right now, McCord is the only other veteran quarterback on the roster.
The Dolphins also shuffled the position group over the weekend. On Saturday, they traded former Texas star QB Quinn Ewers to Jacksonville for the same 2028 sixth-round pick they later sent to Green Bay for McCord. Then on Sunday, Miami waived second-year QB Cam Miller of North Dakota State as the roster deadline hit.
The Dolphins are likely to keep either Miller or rookie quarterback Mark Gronkowski of Iowa on the practice squad.
Around the league, former Syracuse players were scattered across NFL rosters throughout the summer, including veterans like Atlanta’s Matthew Bergeron and younger names such as Dan Villari of the L.A. Rams, who were among those waived or placed on injured lists Sunday but could still land on a practice squad.
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