My initial guess at the final 53

[JMP]

OK, it's early in the pre-season...but what the hell.  Here's my early guess on the opening day roster.  OL, DL, LB and DB were the most difficult to choose, because once you get passed the starters at all those positions there's a huge drop-off and very few definites.  #3 TE was also hard...there's really no one to choose! 

(And note that as much as I want Dallas Thomas gone, I think he will somehow manage to stay on the roster...ugh.)

I think we'll look for free agent help at all the positions I mentioned, but here's how I see it at the moment.



QB (3)
Tannehill
Moore
Doughty
 
WR (6)
Landry
Parker
Stills
Carroo
Whalen
Grant
 
RB (4)
Foster
Ajayi
Drake
Pead
 
TE (3)
Cameron
Sims
Jones
 
OL (9)
Albert
Tunsil
Pouncey
Bushrod
James
Turner
Thomas
Steen
Urbik
 
DL (9)
Williams
Suh
Phillips
Branch
Wake
Mitchell
Warmsley
J. Jones
C. Jones
 
LB (6)
Jenkins
Alonso
Misi
Hewitt
Paysinger
James-Michael Johnson
 
DB (10)
Maxwell
Howard
B. McCain
R. Jones
Abdul-Quddus
Aikens
Hendy
Lippett
M. Thomas
Chekwa
 
K (1)
Franks
 
P (1)
Darr
 
LS (1)
Denney

[white1]

I perused the list it looks to have a good shot at being very close to the final list.

D Jordan starts on NFI, at best, and is likely not activated until injuries start to pile up at DE.

I think the team would be wise to protect Doughty. If we try and stash him on the PS I would not be surprised if a team swoops in to steal him. This is a QB starved league, and from what I have read while his arm lacks strength he has some of the critical strengths like accuracy and anticipation that are really hard for many QBs to grasp.

Hell, Tebow could barely throw a ball with the accuracy to hit a barn from the inside and Denver WON a playoff game with him. Doughty by that measure is worlds better as a prospect.

[JMP]

Agreed on Jordan - NFI to start the season, and then see what happens.  Depending on what kind of shape he's in at that time, a cut or trade is possible if the DE position is looking good.

I'm not overly concerned with losing Doughty because I don't think another team would want to add him to their final roster at this stage.  But, if the staff thinks he is (or could be) a legit prospect, then you have to make room for him.  QB is too important a position to mess around with a prospect you like.

I initially had 3 RBs and 7 LBs.  I added Pead to the RB list because we may need him if Drake isn't ready to contribute.  (Ugh, I really hate that Drake selection...)  Also, depth at LB is so bad that picking a 7th is basically just a crapshoot.  IMO it is very likely that the #6 (and 7 if they keep that many) LB is not currently on the roster.

[DolFan 316]

It WOULD be just like this team to let Doughty get away to preserve a precious roster spot for some scrub LB who can only play special teams. I'd be shocked if that DIDN'T happen, actually. And for what? So they can keep Moore around longer and have to draft another developmental QB next year?

But maybe I'm wrong. Hardly ever happens, though.

Also, I was hoping Denney would get beaten out but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen

[JMP]

Unless Denney completely screws up, there's no reason to replace him at this time.  He's making a lot of money for a long snapper, but the Phins have a ton of cap space right now so there's no real need to dump him unless the rookie (forget his name) legitimately outplays him. 

Then again, the Phins are currently hoarding cap space so they can roll it over to next year to help pay for the massive roster turnover (and to lessen the burden of the Suh and Tannehill contracts).  SO, yeah, maybe they would like to save some more money by cutting Denney.

I wish the Phins would cut Moore and make Doughty the #2.  Not because I like Doughty, but because I am so sick and tired of seeing Moore throw awful INTs.  I have no idea what the coaches see in him - he SUCKS!!!

[white1]

Matt Moore embodies the word "tease" IMO, but only for those that are seeing him for the first time live.

Unfortunately, Gase and his staff fall into that category.

Moore is bound to have a practice series where he looks like Peyton Manning. The first time coach thinks, Oh shit - did that moronic staff I'm replacing miss the boat on Moore? Clearly he can start in this league!

Then, he'll go into a game where the starters look helpless and actually drive for a touchdown in garbage time.

I will not argue that he has value as a backup. We are not in the position to CARE about our backup QB. Our job right now should be to find a legitimate prospect as starter. So why keep Moore? He is not a starter.

[JMP]

I will not argue that he has value as a backup.  We are not in the position to CARE about our backup QB.  Our job right now should be to find a legitimate prospect as starter.  So why keep Moore? He is not a starter.

Good point. For some reason, this team loves to collect what I call "dead end" players, guys that are mediocre or worse who have almost zero upside, so there's really no point in keeping them because they aren't going to get any better. Perfect examples: Matt Moore, Dallas Thomas, Koa Misi. They are all nice guys that work hard, so the coaches love them...but they're not good players and they aren't ever going to be good players.

[HalCHorn]

Doughty needs to be on this roster IMO.

Given what I expect out of this season, he'll be the # 2 QB by season's end. As others have stated, Matt Moore is what he is. Doughty has upside. Moore doesn't.

I don't really see any reason to keep Dallas Thomas either, but then again I haven't seen a reason to keep him around since 2014 either.

[Degarmo]

From Dallas Thomas' first play in preseason the year they drafted him, I'm pretty sure both JMP and myself said something to the effect of (and I use a paraphrased quote here) "He has no skill whatsoever, and he may be the worst offensive lineman I have ever seen."

I stand by that statement, as his huge improvement, in my estimation, has been in confidence, but not ability.  His Twitter game has really improved.

[DolFan 316]

Moore gets put in with under 2 minutes in the half for whatever reason, takes off and slides, gets hit in the head anyway, and is still down. Looks like a concussion for sure.

[JMP]

Moore gets put in with under 2 minutes in the half for whatever reason, takes off and slides, gets hit in the head anyway, and is still down. Looks like a concussion for sure.

I was wondering why they put Moore in there...didn't make any sense. Might as well see what your "star" QB can do in that situation, no?

And oh yeah, Doughty isn't yet ready for prime time, apparently.

[JMP]

BTW - based on what I saw tonight, I adjusted the roster in the first post in this thread.

Based on playing time and when they entered the game, I replaced Urbik with Steen on the OL, and replaced Burgess with Johnson at LB.

[HalCHorn]

Moore gets put in with under 2 minutes in the half for whatever reason, takes off and slides, gets hit in the head anyway, and is still down. Looks like a concussion for sure.

I was wondering why they put Moore in there...didn't make any sense.  Might as well see what your "star" QB can do in that situation, no?

And oh yeah, Doughty isn't yet ready for prime time, apparently.

Doughty definitely took a step back this week.

I still think I'd rather take the chance and keep him and let Moore go. It isn't like this team is going anywhere.

[JMP]

I'm with you, Hal. I'd dump Moore and see if we can actually develop a young QB for a change. Moore is just treading water at this point.

[DolFan 316]

Might not have a choice but to keep Doughty now, no telling how long Moore will be out.

[JMP]

Made a couple of changes:

OL - dumped John, added Urbik
DL - dumped McCain, added Warmsley

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