The Miami Dolphins reached 53 players Sunday evening after a weekend that started at 91 and included 28 releases, a quarterback traded out, a quarterback traded in, and two rookies moved to injured reserve with a path back.
With Trey Moore and Kenneth Grant moving to IR (both eligible to return after 4 games), here are the 53 players on the Dolphins, at this time:
Quarterback: Malik Willis, Kyle McCord
Running back: De’Von Achane, Ollie Gordon, Jaylen Wright, fullback DJ Herman
Tight ends: Greg…— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) August 30, 2026
THREE safeties are presently on the Dolphins roster.
Let that sit in a little.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) August 30, 2026
The full 53-man roster
The list below reconciles the Dolphins roster before the final moves with the cuts, injured reserve designations and PUP moves.
Offense (27)
Quarterbacks (2): Malik Willis, Kyle McCord
Running backs and fullback (4): De’Von Achane, Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordon II, DJ Herman
Wide receivers (7): Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell, Kevin Coleman Jr., AJ Henning, Ryan Miller
Tight ends (4): Greg Dulcich, Will Kacmarek, Ben Sims, Seydou Traore
Offensive line (10): Patrick Paul, Kadyn Proctor, Aaron Brewer, Jonah Savaiinaea, Austin Jackson, Caedan Wallace, DJ Campbell, Andrew Meyer, Josh Priebe, Marques Cox
Defense (23)
Defensive line (4): Zach Sieler, Jordan Phillips, Zeek Biggers, Keith Cooper Jr.
Edge (5): Chop Robinson, Joshua Uche, Clelin Ferrell, Max Llewellyn, Robert Beal Jr.
Linebackers (6): Jordyn Brooks, Jacob Rodriguez, Ronnie Harrison Jr., Willie Gay Jr., Kyle Louis, Jackson Woodard
Cornerbacks (5): Chris Johnson, JuJu Brents, Jason Marshall Jr., Ethan Bonner, A.J. Green III
Safeties (3): Dante Trader Jr., Zayne Anderson, Michael Taaffe
Specialists (3)
K Riley Patterson, P Bradley Pinion, LS Tucker Addington
Injured reserve, designated to return: DT Kenneth Grant, LB Trey Moore. Reserve/PUP: CB Storm Duck, CB Darrell Baker Jr
Three safeties and five cornerbacks
The secondary is where Sunday’s math got thin. Miami released Marco Wilson and Lonnie Johnson in the morning, and at the time, they had been the two most experienced members of the group by games played.
Storm Duck and Darrell Baker Jr. were moved from active PUP to the reserve list as expected, and they become eligible to start practicing after two games.
That leaves five corners and three safeties for the opener, and most do not expect it to stay that way. There are five spots where the Dolphins will likely look hard at waivers — offensive tackle, safety, guard or center, edge and cornerback.
IMO the Dolphins will be looking hard at waivers for possible
OT
S
G or G/C
Edge
CBOne of each could be nice
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 30, 2026
The bubble winners
The last spots went mostly to players who earned them in August. Keith Cooper Jr. and AJ Henning earned it, and the group that made it also included Llewellyn, Ferrell, Beal, Green, Herman, Campbell, Woodard, Cox, Sims, Traore and Miller. Woodard and Ronnie Harrison at inside linebacker were also the notable survivors.
Cooper’s path is the one worth tracking. Fatorma Mulbah was released despite a solid preseason, which left Sieler, Grant, Biggers, Phillips and Cooper as the defensive line room — and with Grant now on IR, Cooper is the fourth interior lineman on a team that Jeff Hafley called thin a day earlier.
Miller, meanwhile, arrived on a waiver claim from the Giants, per the team’s transaction notes, and survived the cut to seven receivers.
Jarquez Hunter, three days later
The most unusual release of the day was a player the Dolphins had just acquired. Miami traded Tutu Atwell to the Rams for Hunter on Thursday, then waived the running back Sunday, which was likely a salary dump since Hunter did not play against the Falcons.
Atwell had signed a one-year deal with Miami in March, and moving him was the point, with Hunter as the mechanism.
Asked Saturday whether the team might keep four running backs, Hafley replied, “That’s a good question,” and the running back room now sits at three plus a fullback. Hunter, a 2025 fourth-round pick out of Auburn, is the kind of 23-year-old who could draw a claim from a team with an open spot.
Hunter, Charlie Heck and David Ojabo were the three cuts nobody had seen coming. Heck had been listed among 11 offensive linemen on the pre-final list; Ojabo’s exit leaves five edge rushers.
Grant and Moore on IR
The two injured reserve moves were the ones the front office had been building toward all week. Grant and Moore were the two bonus players placed on IR with designations to return, which means neither counts against the 53 and both are eligible to come back after four games.
The mechanics of why this had to wait for Sunday — and what it costs the team in activations — are covered in full elsewhere.
The youngest roster and what Monday does to it
47 of 53 players are 28 or younger, 37 are 26 or younger and 47 percent of the roster is between 22 and 24, with 23-year-olds the most common age at nine players. Set against a general manager and head coach in their first year, that is a roster built to be evaluated, not protected.
Miami Dolphins Roster
Most common ages
23: 9 players
22: 8
24: 8
26: 847 of 53 Dolphins are aged 28 or younger
37 of 53 Dolphins are aged 26 or younger
47 percent of roster is 22-24
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) August 30, 2026
It is also a roster built to be edited. Three, four or even five of the players who made the initial 53 could be replaced by waiver claims within 48 hours, and the Dolphins surely will be claiming. Claims are expected to start leaking around 1 p.m. Monday.
One roster spot carries a contract wrinkle. If punter Bradley Pinion, who struggled in the preseason, is on the roster for the opener, his $1.49 million contract becomes fully guaranteed because he is a 12-year veteran.
That is the kind of detail that makes a Week 1 decision a Tuesday decision. The practice squad forms after claims clear.
Mark Gronowski is expected back if he goes unclaimed, and Rodney McGraw hopes to land in Miami too. This page will be updated as the roster changes.
