It’s that time of year again when the post-draft OTA’s yield a thinning of the herd of sorts in the NFL. And, the Miami Dolphins are no different, waiving several players today, including cornerback Ryan Cooper Jr., defensive tackle Neil Farrell and offensive lineman Chase Hines. The team also released long-snapper Blake Ferguson.
The move leaves the Dolphins with 78 players on their roster, but that doesn’t count the potential signings of undrafted rookie free agents.
Dolphins lose their long snapper
Alain Poupart of Sports Illustrated takes a closer look at the loss of Ferguson.
“The most significant news here was the move with Ferguson, who had been the team’s long-snapper for five-plus seasons before he was placed on the Non-Football Injury list early last season,” Poupart writes.
“Ferguson never returned last season and no details ever emerged about what caused him to be placed on NFI.
“Ferguson joined the Dolphins as a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft. His brother Reid is the longtime long-snapper for the Buffalo Bills.
“With Ferguson have a cap number of a little more than $1.1 million in 2025, there won’t be a significant cap savings involved with this move. And perhaps we should have seen it coming with the Dolphins reportedly agreeing to terms with long-snapper Kneeland Hibbett from Alabama as a rookie free agent.”
A look at the other roster casualties
Poupart says that Cooper, Farrell and Hines were really fighting just to make the roster. It’s not impossible for the Dolphins to bring them back at some point if they don’t catch on with another team.
“The move with Cooper is interesting, though, considering the Dolphins claimed him off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason” Poupart continues.
“Farrell was one of only four defensive linemen on the roster this offseason, but the Dolphins took three players at his position in the draft, starting with first-round pick Kenneth Grant followed by Jordan Phillips on Round 5 and Zeek Biggers in Round 7.
“Hines spent the past two seasons on the Dolphins practice squad. He never appeared in a regular season game, though he was elevated to the game-day roster one time in 2023.”
Josh Houtz of Phinsider.com offers a little more background on the trio.
CB Ryan Cooper Jr., 23, entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens before signing a futures contract with the Seattle Seahawks at the end of the 2024 season. He’d later be released and claimed by Miami before the start of the 2025 new league year.
DT Neil Farrell, 26, signed to Miami’s practice squad on September 26th, 2024, before being called up to the active roster. He appeared in seven games for the Dolphins in 2024, recording just two tackles. Before Miami, Farrell played for the Las Vegas Raiders, where he was drafted in the fourth round (126th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft, and the Kansas City Chiefs. In total, Farrell has recorded 15 tackles, one pass breakup, and two tackles for loss during his three seasons in the league.
OL Chasen Hines, 25, was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (210th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was released on August 29th, after spending most of the 2022 season on the injured reserve. Hines would later sign to Miami’s practice squad ahead of the 2023 NFL season. Despite his best efforts, Hines would later be waived by Miami in the summer of 2024, before landing on the team’s practice squad.
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