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

But with other players recovering and soon set to return, roster management decisions will become more complicated 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.

Five positions come to mind.

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

Based on comments made by both head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell last week, 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.”

Let’s say the Dolphins decide to go with two quarterbacks. In that case, whoever is cut will most likely be re-signed to the practice squad once that player clears waivers; We don’t anticipate Thompson or Huntley being claimed off waivers, particularly at this stage of the season.

The (expected) addition of Cracraft will give the Dolphins six wide receivers at 53, and that’s two more than they had at the start of the season when they pulled someone from the practice squad for every game. At the same time, Odell Beckham, Jr. was on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, recovering from a 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. He did not travel to Los Angeles with his teammates but will be available for the game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Eskridge, however, now serves as the primary kickoff returner, with Braxton Berrios missing the entire season due to a knee injury.

If the Dolphins decide six is ​​too many, then the only two logical options that would be released at this point would be Eskridge or even Beckham if the team decides he isn’t playing enough of a role to keep him around, and before ruling that out. Idea because of 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 kept 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 way, and I think that’s due to both his skill and his professionalism. I think it could be a hair “Soon this week, but I’m looking forward to him getting up and being a part of what we’re doing because he’s got the right stuff and he’s got the talent to contribute.”

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

Making those numbers five and 12 would mean a sacrifice elsewhere, and logic would dictate that another DB would be cut 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, 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 because the team is better when he spins 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 cut someone from another position on the 53-man roster once they activate Ferguson because they don’t currently have a long snapper on the roster.

This is not as definitive as the other four locations we mentioned because Bradley Chubb’s status is still uncertain.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection continues to recover from his Week 17 ACL injury, and McDaniel regularly delivers positive results. Still, we don’t know when Chubb might return, or even if he will return sometime 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, as are all the others.