The Miami Dolphins are just about ready to kick off training camp at their Baptist Health Training Complex this week, as their veterans are set to return to their facilities on Tuesday, July 28, one full week after the rookies.
Over the next month, players will compete for opportunities in the regular season and roster spots before the team is forced to make cuts after the preseason concludes with a matchup against old friend Tua Tagovailoa and the Atlanta Falcons.
Ahead of training camp, we released our first 53-man roster projection, and while several players were cut, let's take a look at some of the hardest cuts we had to make.
WR Tahj Washington
Washington missed his entire rookie season after suffering an injury early in training camp, and when he came back,
he appeared in six games last year, catching three passes for 37 yards. Miami has plenty of wide receivers competing for jobs, but having Theo Wease Jr. beat out the former seventh-round pick for the final spot on the depth chart was a tough decision at the end of the day.
DE Mason Reiger
Reiger joined the Dolphins this offseason as an undrafted free agent after five years at Louisville and one at Wisconsin. Miami gave him $150,000 guaranteed on his rookie deal, which was the second-most of any undrafted Dolphins (Rene Konga got $247,500). In our projection, Reiger loses out to Robert Beal Jr., but there's a real chance that the former Badger impresses in training camp a full year removed from missing the 2024 season.
DL Matthew Butler
Butler appeared in 12 games for Miami last year and played 29% of their defensive snaps in those games. With Benito Jones leaving, someone will have to pick up the slack in the room, and while there are a few guys who could do that, we projected undrafted rookie Rene Konga to take the final spot in the defensive line room.
LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.
Miami's linebacker group is arguably their strongest, which means there will likely be at least one veteran who doesn't make the roster out of camp. Harrison joined on an inexpensive one-year deal this offseason, after stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons. His versatility to play linebacker and safety is intriguing, but with rookie Kyle Louis doing the same thing, he may be a bit redundant.
CB Marco Wilson
The Dolphins could use some solid cornerback depth, especially with a couple of their veterans dealing with injuries the last time we saw them. Wilson could be just that after playing 64 games and starting 37 over the last five years. However, we have him losing out to Alex Austin in a close battle.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: 5 hardest cuts from our Dolphins 53-man roster projection before camp
