The Miami Dolphins made a series of roster moves on Saturday, setting up their roster for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The surprise move of the day was the team placing long snapper Blake Ferguson, who has not missed a game since being a sixth-round pick by the team in the 2020 NFL Draft, on the reserve/non-football illness list. The move keeps Ferguson out for at least four weeks, and he will count against the team’s limit of returning eight players from the injured reserve list.
Miami has designated cornerback Cam Smith and wide receiver River Cracraft for return, using the first two of their eight allocations. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to be designated for return next week, giving them five available slots for the remainder of the year. Safety Patrick McMorris is eligible for activation having already spent four games on IR.
Wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., was activated off the physically unable to perform list and does not count against the eight-player limit. Linebacker Bradley Chubb, who is currently on the PUP list, also would not count against the allocation if he were to be activated.
To fill the game-day roster space of Ferguson as the team’s long snapper, Miami signed long snapper Matt Overton to the practice squad, then immediately elevated him for the game. The team also elevated cornerback Nik Needham.
Filling Fergson’s spot on the active roster is quarterback Tim Boyle, who started the year on the team’s 53-man roster before being waived and re-signed to the practice squad. He was elevated for last week’s game and now returns to the 53-man roster.
Overton joined the NFL as an undrafted free agent defensive end and long snapper in 2007, signing out of Western Washington to join the Seattle Seahawks. After spending time in the Arena Football League’s second league in 2008, then in the UFL in 2009, he returned to the Seahawks in 2010, but was released in training camp. He returned to the UFL for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, before signing as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2021, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl as a long snapper. In 2017, after being released by the Colts, Overton spent two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, filling in each season due to season-ending injuries to Carson Tucker.
In 2019, he had a three-day stint with the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2020, he began the year on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad before moving up to the active roster. In 2021, he returned to the Chargers. In 2022, he spent a week with the Los Angeles Rams before joining the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad and working his way onto the active roster.
After not playing most of the 2023 season, Overston signed to the Chicago Bears’ practice squad just before the end of the year. He has appeared in 139 games during his career.
The Dolphins face the Colts at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
