MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It was always a bit peculiar that Salvon Ahmed decided to re-sign with the Miami Dolphins this offseason given their excellent depth at running back, and that move seemed even redundant in April when they traded up to draft Jaylen Wright.
Ahmed needed either a fantastic training camp or a series of injuries at the position to make the Dolphins’ 53.
When it became clear Monday that neither had happened, the Dolphins moved on from Ahmed, releasing him so they could bring in fullback Zander Horvath and running back Anthony McFarland Jr. just a week shy of cutdown day.
Miami Dolphins Cut Salvon Ahmed
Those three moves were just the start of a long list of Dolphins transactions Monday. They also placed wide receiver Willie Snead IV and offensive lineman Sean Harlow on injured reserve, waived/injured linebacker Ezekiel Vandenburgh, and signed linebacker Dequan Jackson and wide receiver Jadon Janke.
The four new players all have uphill climbs to make the Dolphins’ Week 1 roster but should all see significant action in Friday’s preseason finale.
The Dolphins have run out of bodies on offense due to injury in each of their first two exhibition games and probably would have again if not for these moves.
River Cracraft is the latest wide receiver to go down, suffering what appears to be a significant upper-body injury on Saturday night. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel did tell reporters Monday he expects Cracraft to play at some point this season.
Snead’s time on the Dolphins’ active roster lasted just three weeks. He was a low-risk signing last month after Erik Ezukanma got hurt. Now Ezukanma is down but Snead is out. He and Harlow are both lost for the year.
Horvath didn’t see any game action in 2023 after appearing in 15 (with two starts) as a rookie the year before.
McFarland played in the UFL this spring after spending his first three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie in 2020 but has barely seen an NFL field since.
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Still, the most notable name on the Dolphins’ long news release announcing their moves was Ahmed, who rushed for 593 yards and five touchdowns in his first four seasons in the league.
His best year was his first when he averaged 4.3 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.