As the Miami Dolphins face the Las Vegas Raiders this Sunday to build up a winning streak, they have made some personnel changes to the roster that will surprise many fans. After the Dolphins picked up linebacker Tyrel Dodson Tuesday, they have made some more changes by adding tight end Jack Stoll off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles and dropping linebacker David Long Jr., who was named a captain earlier this season, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Long was also a certified starter just as recently as Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals before he was replaced by Anthony Walker Jr., who has been racking up a good amount of tackles for Miami. He had appeared in 29 games for the Dolphins as they signed him in free agency last year, but had struggled this season as per Pro Football Focus and The Palm Beach Post; he was ranked 83rd out of 83 linebackers.
The Dolphins are coming off a much-needed win over the Los Angeles Rams but look to improve their roster as they have now used that open spot for Stoll. The 26-year-old undrafted player out of Nebraska started two games for Philadelphia this season, where he caught two passes for 10 yards.
Filling specifically at the linebacker position for Long, Miami added Dodson, as said before, who had started all nine games this season for the Seattle Seahawks, racking in 71 total tackles, 41 were solo, two sacks, and two pass breakups.
Dolphins' Mike McDaniel on acquiring Tyrel Dodson
He played with AFC East rivals in the Buffalo Bills for the first five years of his career as he was an undrafted free agent coming out of Texas A&M. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel spoke about the team obtaining Dodson and mentioned that he was shocked that he was out there for the taking in waivers.
“He was in our division, going against him and was a surprise that he was out there,” McDaniel said via team's transcripts. “(General Manager) Chris Grier is always trying to make the team better and the more the merrier in our opinion.”
Miami snapped a dreadful three-game skid that McDaniel revealed felt like “an eternity” and also spoke about the urgency that was felt within the team and organization.
“In the National Football League, because of all the things, all the fruits that it bears, there’s also consequences that I don’t think people quite understand,” McDaniel said. “There’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of preparation, and particularly you’re getting yourself prepared to try to go win a game, and when you do that and you fail and that occurs over a three-week time frame, it feels like an eternity.”
“So I think after you lose one game, you are incredibly urgent and that urgency just continues…You’re trying to handle the team and get them focused and give them their best chance to win the following game. But I could tell that guys had – we’d gone through the process; we’d been very clear about communicating things that were keeping us from winning football games, and I think all you can do is hold each other extremely accountable.”
Miami next faces the Raiders in the hopes of keeping their playoff chances alive.
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