The Miami Dolphins woke up Monday morning with a spot open on their 53-man roster, and it seems like a pretty safe assumption it will go to wide receiver River Cracraft.

But with other players recovering and soon set to return, decisions will become more complicated when it comes to roster management because obviously every player returning to the 53-man roster requires a vacancy.

Although the Dolphins will make some decisions due to subsequent injuries, the team still looks like they will have to make some tough decisions sooner rather than later.

There are five positions that come to mind.

The Dolphins currently have two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster with Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson and no one at the position on the practice squad, but Tyler “Snoop” Huntley is two weeks away from being able to return from injured reserve.

Based on comments made by head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell last week, it appears that carrying three quarterbacks at the 53 once Huntley returns is a definite possibility.

And that’s without even getting into the question of who would be the No. 2 after Huntley started the last three games Tagovailoa missed due to his time on IR.

“That would be something we would just let those guys come in and compete,” Bevell said. “It’s not the issue right now. So right now, Skylar is number two. But when Snoop comes back, then that will be a decision we make at that time.”

If the Dolphins decide to go with two quarterbacks, then whoever takes the cuts will most likely be re-signed to the practice squad once that player clears waivers; We do not anticipate Thompson or Huntley being claimed off waivers. Especially at this point in the season.

The (expected) addition of Cracraft will give the Dolphins six wide receivers at the 53, and that’s two more than they had at the start of the season when they simply pulled someone from the practice squad for each game while Odell Beckham Jr. He sat in place. PUP recovering from his knee problem.

Do the Dolphins really need six wide receivers at the 53?

The last addition to the group before Cracraft was Dee Eskridge, who missed practices on Friday and Saturday due to a personal issue, did not travel to Los Angeles with his teammates but will be available for game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Eskridge, however, now serves as the primary kickoff returner with Braxton Berrios lost for the season with a knee injury.

If the Dolphins decide six is ​​too many, then the only two logical options to be released at this point would be Eskridge or even Beckham, if the team decides he’s not playing enough of a role to keep him around, and before waiving him. That idea is due to his credentials, remember that he has participated in 11 offensive plays in three of his four games and 12 in the other.

The Dolphins clearly like rookie sixth-round pick Patrick McMorris, which is why they made sure to keep him at the original 53 before putting him on IR at the start of the season.

And now their practice window opened last week.

“There are few rookies who are able to make a super quick transition,” McDaniel said. “We thought he did a really good job of learning the responsibilities and really improving during training camp. So he stood out in that regard, and I think it’s due to both his ability and his professionalism. I think it might be a little early. this week, but I hope he stands up and is part of what we are doing because it is the right thing to do and he has the talent to contribute.”

The Dolphins, however, already have four safeties on the 53-man roster with Jevon Holland, Jordan Poyer, Marcus Maye and Elijah Campbell and 11 total defensive backs.

Making those numbers five and 12 would mean a sacrifice elsewhere, and logic would dictate that it would be another DB removed to make room for McMorris, who should be ready for the next game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11.

The Dolphins value Blake Ferguson enough that they signed him to a contract extension last year, and both McDaniel and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman spoke glowingly of him last week, making it seem almost certain he’ll return to the 53rd. once he misses one more game on the reserve/non-football illness list.

“The details of whether it will be next week or the week after that or the week after that, we’ll let time tell, but I love Blake,” McDaniel said Saturday. “When he’s ready, you’ll see it because the team is better when he’s there.” turning it.”

Crossman added last week that he didn’t want to get into a situation where the team simply signs a long snapper to the practice squad every three weeks while using that player’s three max lifts.

The Dolphins, however, will have to get someone at another position on the 53-man roster once they activate Ferguson because they don’t have a long snapper on the roster right now.

This is not as definitive as the other four locations we mentioned due to the still uncertain status of Bradley Chubb.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection continues to recover from his Week 17 ACL injury and McDaniel continues to deliver positive results on a regular basis, but the reality is that we simply don’t know when Chubb might return, or even if he will return at any time. in 2024.

If he returns, the Dolphins would have six edge defenders with Chubb joining Emmanuel Ogbah, Chop Robinson, Mohamed Kamara, Tyus Bowser and Quinton Bell. Six edge defenders is a tremendously high number on a 53-man roster, but this would be a tricky decision, like all the others.