Malik Reed among Miami Dolphins' Monday cuts, per report

Sep 19, 2023

As the Miami Dolphins trim their roster from 90 players to an initial 53-man regular-season roster, they announced 14 cuts Monday ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.

Not among the official cuts, the Dolphins are also reportedly releasing veteran outside linebacker and March free-agent signing Malik Reed, according to ESPN.

The Dolphins released veterans in tackle Geron Christian, wide receiver Keke Coutee and linebacker A.J. Johnson. They waived linebackers Aubrey Miller II, Mitchell Agude and Garrett Nelson, quarterback James Blackman, defensive tackles Jaylen Twyman, Josiah Bronson and Jamal Woods, defensive end Randy Charlton, wide receiver Chris Coleman, safety Keidron Smith and offensive tackle James Tunstall.

Reed was among players the Dolphins signed in the initial wave of free agency this past offseason. He has previous experience under new Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio from his time as head coach of the Denver Broncos, and Reed was also teammates with Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb there.

But Reed never stood out in the preseason or training camp in Miami, nor minicamp and organized team activities before that in May in June.

An undrafted player out of Nevada in 2019, Reed first developed to start eight games that rookie season. Between the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Broncos, he made 13 starts apiece and combined for 96 tackles, 13 sacks and three forced fumbles. Reed had a career-high eight sacks in 2020.

Reed was traded to the Steelers ahead of the 2022 season. In Pittsburgh, he saw a decrease in playing time, starting just two games, registering 25 tackles and a sack. He has been a special teams contributor throughout his career.

The reported release of Reed could’ve potentially opened up a decent chance for either Agude or Nelson to be kept on the Dolphins’ initial active roster as undrafted rookies that can provide depth at outside linebacker, but both were among players waived.

Coutee, Johnson and Christian were veterans trying to make the Dolphins’ roster in camp.

Coutee has 85 receptions for 966 yards and four touchdowns over five seasons between time spent with the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. Johnson has 252 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks in his career and, like Reed, was a member of Fangio’s defenses with the Broncos. Christian, who was brought back after joining Miami late last season, has 16 starts among 48 games played with Washington, Houston and Kansas City.

Blackman and Smith were Palm Beach County high school products, Blackman from Glades Central and Smith from Oxbridge Academy. Agude finished his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, after transferring from UCLA.

Many of those cut Monday are candidates to make Miami’s practice squad. Players that don’t make the initial active roster can be picked up by other teams. If they clear waivers, the Dolphins can bring them back to form their 16-player practice squad.

Miami is also expected to have active-roster spots available after creating the initial 53 with players set to start the season in injured reserve and the physically-unable-to-perform list. Among them, star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who won’t be able to return from surgery on the meniscus in his left knee until deep into the regular season.

Ahead of the 2023 season, the league switched from having rounds of cuts to one final cut-down day. Previously, there were two waves of five cuts each before final deadline.

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