Dolphins Pick Up Veteran Linebacker
On their first day off from training camp, the Miami Dolphins made a few roster changes, but Tua Tagovailoa’s contract extension was not one of them.
On Saturday, their first day off during training camp, the Miami Dolphins made a few roster changes following their major summer personnel move. They announced the signing of third-year linebacker Curtis Bolton and the release of rookie quarterback Gavin Hardison.
The official announcement of Tua Tagovailoa’s contract extension, which was reported on Friday, is still awaited and is expected to be made when the team resumes practice on Sunday.
THE NEW DOLPHINS LINEBACKER
Bolton joins the Dolphins after spending the majority of the past two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he appeared in 23 games. Before that, he played five games for the Detroit Lions in 2022. Bolton has also had stints with the Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and Houston Texans, having entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 2019.
Throughout his career, Bolton has primarily contributed on special teams. Out of his 507 career snaps over 28 games, 491 have been on special teams. During the 2023 season with the Raiders, he played 253 special teams snaps compared to just 15 on defense. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 228 pounds, Bolton faces a challenging task in making the 53-man roster.
NO FOURTH QB NEEDED
The decision to move on from Hardison was expected, as teams typically don’t need four quarterbacks during training camp. With Tua’s contract extension now finalized, he will be fully participating in practices.
From the outset, Hardison needed to make a significant and rapid impact to remain with the team, given the limited practice reps he received. Signed by the Dolphins from UTEP while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Hardison demonstrated a strong arm but struggled with accuracy during the media-accessible practices in the spring.
With Hardison’s departure, the Dolphins now have three quarterbacks on their 90-man roster (or 91, considering Dominican rookie Bayron Matos’s exemption): Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, and Skylar Thompson.