With the week quickly passing by, the Dolphins have to release their final depth chart for their opening game at the Cleveland Browns. The Dolphins went down to a 53-man roster earlier this week with the most notable losses including Jorvorskie Lane, Dan Carpenter, and Josh Samuda.
There was no harsh feelings between Coach Philbin and the hard-working players that were cut. As Philbin stated, the guys are “good people, guys that have worked their tails off, a lot of them since April 15th. Obviously all the moves we make we feel like are in the best interest of the football team, but we certainly want to wish those guys well.”
The real controversy in the Dolphins roster move was the cutting of Jorvorskie Lane . Last season he played a major role in plays that were 3rd and short or 4th and inches. He was very efficient at moving the chains in these types of scenarios, which is why it came as such a shock to most fans. He managed to start in all 16 games last season and in his 13 offensive carries, he only fumbled the ball once.
As for the loss of Dan Carpenter, while he is an extremely accurate kicker, the Dolphins have put their trust in rookie Caleb Sturgis. Sturgis has the power and accuracy that the Fins need to win football games. Last season they were robbed of games by the margin of three points or less. For this reason, it is crucial that the Dolphins have a kicker that can produce points in situations where the game is on the line. While fans worry that Sturgis is a rookie and will crumble under pressure, it still does not deny the fact that he has the ability to kick extremely long balls with precision.
As for Josh Samuda, he was cut to make room for Danny Watkins, a guard who formerly played with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Dolphins much see great potential in Watkins for he only played 11 out of the 16 regular season games last year with the Eagles.
The Dolphins go against the Browns this Sunday September 8th at Cleveland at 1:00pm ET.
