The Dolphins today announced they have waived tackle Sean Hickey, who spent all of last season on the teams practice squad.
Hickey originally joined the Dolphins on Aug. 15, 2017. Throughout his NFL career, he’s also spent stints on the practice squads of Minnesota (2016), N.Y. Jets (2016), New England (2015) and New Orleans (2015). Hickey originally joined the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with New Orleans on May 4, 2015 after starting three seasons (2012-14) at Syracuse.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase is raving about veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola’s impact on the team, Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Apparently, Amendola’s work ethic has been quite impressive so far.
“It’s one of those values that I don’t think you can put a price on,” Gase said on Pro Football Talk Live on Wednesday morning.
“He’s been great in our locker room. I think the guys watch him work on the field and in the weight room and they understand why he’s played as long as he has, why he’s had success in big situations.”
Amendola was undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2008 but worked his way into a prime role with New England the last five years, becoming a postseason standout.
Gase said Amendola, a 32-year-old, nine-year veteran, is setting an example for others.
“Any time you can get a guy who can not only produce for you but can be a great example for other guys in your locker room, he’s making other guys better,” Gase said. “He makes 24 other offensive guys better if they watch him work.”
The Dolphins are hosting another veteran defensive tackle on a free-agent visit despite Thursday’s trade that delivered Akeem Spence, Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
According to a league source, Terrell McClain, who was released by the Redskins this week one season after signing a four-year, $21 million deal, is visiting the Dolphins this weekend.
McClain, a University of South Florida product who contributed 20 tackles and two sacks as a rotational player in Washington, is searching for a new home for his eighth season.
McClain, who has recorded 110 tackles, 6.5 sacks and forced three fumbles throughout his career, has moved around a lot during his NFL career, playing for five different teams. He spent three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys before joining Washington, and has started 29 games during his career.
The Lions on Thursday traded defensive tackle Akeem Spence to the Dolphins for a 2019 seventh-round draft choice, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Spence, 26, had a career-high three sacks for the Lions last season and started the final 11 games of the year after Haloti Ngata suffered a season-ending injury.
Spence, 6-foot-1 and 307 pounds, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
In Miami, he’ll be reunited with former Lions defensive line coach, Kris Kocurek, who accepted the same position with the Dolphins in January.
The draft grades from ‘Draft Guru’ Mel Kiper Jr. are out, and one team that got an average grade is that of the Dolphins, who according to Kiper got an ‘C+’ for their collection of players over the two days.
This has been an interesting offseason of change for the Dolphins, who have parted ways with several important players, including Ndamukong Suh, Mike Pouncey, Jarvis Landry, Jay Cutler and Julius Thomas. Yes, they’ve added Robert Quinn, Josh Sitton, Danny Amendola, Frank Gore and Albert Wilson, but there are still some sizable holes on the roster. I hear “culture” blamed, but at some point you have to be accountable for what’s on the field. I put the entire offensive line on my list of questions because no spot outside left tackle Laremy Tunsil should be set, and they needed depth at several other positions.
Snagging Minkah Fitzpatrick at No. 11 is a great value. I thought he was a top-five player in this class, but teams got a little scared because he doesn’t have a true position. He’s a little bit of a tweener who doesn’t have true safety measurables. The Dolphins just need to get him on the field. This is one of Nick Saban’s favorite players ever. Mike Gesicki (pick 42) is going to slot straight into Thomas’ spot, but he’s not going to block anybody. He’s a slot receiver with a big — and super athletic — frame, and he has good body control.
Jerome Baker (73) is a true cover linebacker with range who will be a core special-teamer and help out on third downs. As McShay pointed out, the defense has been shredded by tight ends, and Fitzpatrick and Baker help. Durham Smythe (123) is a better blocker than receiver. Kalen Ballage (131) is the guy to watch in this class. Surely Adam Gase doesn’t expect to play Gore on every down, and Ballage caught 82 passes in his career.
The one big question coming out of this draft: where was the quarterback? Miami is really going to go into the 2018 season with Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler as its top two QBs. I can’t give a “B” here.
Round/Pick Name Pos College
1/11 Minkah Fitzpatrick S ALABAMA
2/42 Mike Gesicki TE PENN STATE
3/73 Jerome Baker OLB OHIO STATE
4/123 Durham Smythe TE NOTRE DAME
4/131 Kalen Ballage RB ARIZONA STATE
6/209 Cornell Armstrong CB SOUTHERN MISS
7/227 Quentin Poling ILB OHIO
7/229 Jason Sanders K NEW MEXICO
The Dolphins got a player they probably never felt would be there at 11 on Thursday night, grabbing Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick with their first pick of the NFL Draft.
Making it official!
Minkah Fitzpatrick ??Miami!!
“Really, the way it all played out, we didn’t think any of the quarterbacks would make it to us,” general manager Chris Grier said. “For us, we talked to a couple of teams about maybe moving up or down but nothing real serious. For us, at the end of the day, if one of those guys was there, we would have talked about it; but we just didn’t think anybody would be there.”
Fitzpatrick, a first-team All-American who had nine career interceptions and 171 tackles, figures to start at free safety alongside Pro Bowl strong safety Reshad Jones. It’s unclear what that means for veteran safety T.J. McDonald, who started alongside Jones last season in a secondary that featured two strong safeties.
?: Watch the #NFLDraft on FOX & @NFLNetwork. pic.twitter.com/un8y3RxyMX
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) April 27, 2018
The #Dolphins stay right where they were and take #Bama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick… a player they never thought would be there.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2018
I love Minkah Fitzpatrick almost as much as I do Roquan Smith. Just a football player. Corner, safety, whatever. Knows how to play. Competes. Always around the ball. Congrats, Dolphins.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 27, 2018
The Dolphins haven’t ruled out trading up tonight if a QB slides in tonight’s NFL Draft, but they’ve also made clear to Ryan Tannehill that no matter what, he’s their starter for 2018, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
That news basically means that if they do draft a QB at some point in the first few rounds, he will likely sit back and watch what Tannehill does for at least the first season.
The Dolphins have picked up the fifth-year option for wide receiver DeVante Parker, Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
It’s a move that’s mildly surprising considering Parker, the 2015 first-round pick, has been inconsistent over his previous three seasons.
Parker, who will earn about $9.3 million for the 2019 season, has 139 receptions for 1,908 yards and eight touchdowns for his career. He totaled 57 receptions for 670 yards and one touchdown last season.
Parker, tremendously talented but afflicted by injury and professionalism issues, has been somewhat of an enigma with Miami. Prior to last season former offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen and wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson both predicted big things for Parker, including a Pro Bowl appearance.
But Parker didn’t deliver, instead taking a backseat to fellow wide receivers Jarvis Landry, who was traded to Cleveland recently, and Kenny Stills. Landry had a career-best and league-leading 112 receptions while Stills had 58 receptions for 847 yards and six touchdowns, each registering as the second-best totals of his five-year career.
May 29th, 2018 
Cory Allen 
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