Though the majority of the news revolving around the Miami Dolphins right now has to do with their upcoming Week 1 matchup against the New England Patriots, a different story has taken place off the field.
According to a Tuesday report, defender Brennan Scarlett and the Dolphins have agreed to an injury settlement. Scarlett had been placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Scarlett, 29, will now have the opportunity to sign elsewhere and possibly suit up and play once he heals from the injury he is currently dealing with. He could also rejoin the team in the near future and play for it this season.
Dolphins and DE/LB Brennan Scarlett, who had been on IR, have reached an injury settlement and he is being released, which allows him to play this season, possibly for the Dolphins. He is expected to be healthy by week 7 or 8. Had he stayed on IR, he would have missed this season
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 6, 2022
So far in his NFL career, Scarlett has played for the Dolphins and Houston Texans. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and carved out a nice role as a rotational player in the Texans’ front seven before joining the Dolphins prior to the 2021 regular season.
Last season, he played in 13 games and recorded four starts. In that action, he recorded 19 combined tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass defended. He didn’t play a role in many big plays, however, and failed to log a single sack or turnover.
Still, success on defense is not always about game-changing plays, and a lot of players around the league make good careers out of taking care of their assignments and blocking up holes to stall opposing offenses.
Now, it will be interesting to see if a team picks him up in the near future. It would be something of a surprise if he got much of a look before he can prove that he is fully healthy. Based on the report, it looks like that will come sometime around Week 7 or Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season.
That timeline could work well for Scarlett. After all, the NFL regular season is a long slog, and players usually start to deal with nagging injuries when the weeks start to pile on.
That fact could certainly lead to some teams looking toward free agency for replacements.
As for the Dolphins, it will be interesting to see if they make any last-minute additions to the roster now that they know Scarlett might not be coming back to the team once his rehab is complete.
