The Miami Dolphins are beginning to make their final roster cuts as they prepare for the 2025 campaign. By 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon, every team’s roster will need to be trimmed down to 53 players, meaning that hundreds of moves will be made across the league over the next 24 hours or so.
During training camp, one position that has emerged as a serious position of need is the cornerback spot, thanks to Artie Burns and Kader Kohou both suffering season-ending injuries. In an effort to shore up the spot, the Dolphins signed veteran cornerback Mike Hilton to help out on defense, but his time with the team appears to have already come to a surprising end.
Dolphins Release Cornerback Mike Hilton
Hilton went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, but that didn’t stop him from carving out a solid career in the NFL. After spending time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots out of the gate, Hilton eventually found his way to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and over time, he turned himself into the team’s top nickelback.
After four seasons with the Steelers, Hilton latched on with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he assumed a similar role in their secondary. Hilton’s best season came in 2023, when he racked up 84 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and eight passes deflected. However, the team decided to move on from him this offseason after he struggled to hold up in coverage last year.
With Burns and Kohou quickly being lost for the season, the Dolphins signed Hilton in hopes that he could fill in as their nickelback. For most of training camp, it looked like Hilton was the team’s top option at this spot, but it turns out that wasn’t the case, as Miami surprisingly released the veteran defender as part of their roster cuts on Monday.
“Dolphins have informed veteran cornerback Mike Hilton of his release, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey,” Adam Schefter of ESPN reported in a post on X.
Dolphins Could Look to Add Help at Cornerback After Mike Hilton’s Release
GettyThe Dolphins have decided to release veteran cornerback Mike Hilton as part of their roster cuts
The Dolphins’ cornerback room has been their weakest position throughout training camp, and that was before Hilton was released. Kendall Sheffield and Storm Duck are penciled in as their top two boundary corners, with Jason Marshall Jr. now appearing to be the top option at nickelback. Simply put, that isn’t exactly an imposing group of cornerbacks.
Losing Burns and Kohou has undoubtedly hurt the team, but it’s looking increasingly likely that they will need to add some help at this spot if they want any shot of emerging as a playoff team in 2025. Hilton’s release isn’t necessarily a game-changer, but it looked like he could have helped Miami out in the wake of Burns and Kohou’s injuries. Instead, the Dolphins may want to keep an eye out and see which cornerbacks get released across the league over the next day or so.
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