Miami Dolphins make 2 trades
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March 17, 2021
Miami Dolphins make 2 trades
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have acquired linebacker Benardrick McKinney and a 2021 seventh-round pick from the Houston Texans in exchange for defensive end Shaq Lawson and a 2021 sixth-round pick. The Dolphins also acquired tackle Isaiah Wilson and a 2022 seventh-round pick from Tennessee in exchange for a 2021 seventh-round pick.
McKinney played 80 games with 77 starts in six seasons (2015-20) with Houston. He totaled 525 tackles (312 solo), 11.5 sacks, one interception, 14 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. McKinney earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2016 and was a Pro Bowl selection following the 2018 season. He originally entered the NFL as a second-round pick (43rd overall) by Houston in the 2015 NFL draft.
Wilson was drafted in the first round (29th overall) of the 2020 NFL draft by Tennessee and played in one game for the Titans. The Brooklyn, New York native was a standout at the University of Georgia, starting 24 games over his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons (2018-19). He also earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2019.
Lawson played in 14 games with seven starts for the Dolphins in 2020, totaling 32 tackles (17 solo), four sacks, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Prior to joining Miami, Lawson played four seasons (2016-19) in Buffalo. He originally entered the NFL as a first-round pick (19th overall) by the Bills in the 2016 NFL Draft.
| Name |
Pos. |
Hgt. |
Wgt. |
Birthdate |
Exp. |
College |
Hometown |
Acq. |
| Benardrick McKinney |
LB |
6-4 |
257 |
11/19/92 |
7 |
Mississippi State ’15 |
Tunica, Miss. |
T, ’21 (Hou.) |
| Isaiah Wilson |
T |
6-7 |
330 |
2/12/99 |
2 |
Georgia ’20 |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
T, ’21 (Ten.) |
Miami Dolphins re-sign Biegel
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March 16, 2021
Miami Dolphins re-sign Biegel
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have re-signed linebacker Vince Biegel.
Biegel joined the Dolphins in a trade from New Orleans on Sept. 1, 2019. He played in 15 games with 10 starts for the Dolphins in 2019, totaling 57 tackles (26 solo), two sacks, one interception and one pass defensed. He missed the entire 2020 season after being placed on injured reserve. Biegel originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round pick (108th overall) by Green Bay in the 2017 NFL draft.
Miami Dolphins sign Palardy
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March 15, 2021
Miami Dolphins sign Palardy
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have signed punter Michael Palardy.
Palardy played four seasons (2016-19) for Carolina before missing the 2020 season after being placed on the non-football injury list. He has played in 55 career games and totaled 243 punts for 11,011 yards and a 40.3 net punt average. Palardy originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Oakland on June 5, 2014. Following a standout career at St. Thomas Aquinas, Palardy played collegiately at Tennessee. A Coral Springs, Florida native, he helped lead the Raiders to a 2008 FHSAA 5A state championship.
| Name |
Pos. |
Hgt. |
Wgt. |
Birthdate |
Exp. |
College |
Hometown |
Acq. |
| Michael Palardy |
P |
5-11 |
200 |
7/6/92 |
5 |
Tennessee ’14 |
Coral Springs, Fla. |
FA, ‘21 |
Miami Dolphins announce coaching staff changes
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March 11, 2021
Miami Dolphins announce coaching staff changes
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have promoted Danny Crossman to assistant head coach/special teams coordinator, George Godsey to co-offensive coordinator/tight ends and Eric Studesville to co-offensive coordinator/running backs. Other promotions include Charles Burks to cornerbacks coach, Austin Clark to defensive line coach, Shawn Flaherty to assistant offensive line coach, Mike Judge to assistant tight ends coach and Rob Leonard to outside linebackers coach.
Crossman is entering his third season on Miami’s staff after spending the past two years (2019-20) as special teams coordinator. During his tenure, kicker Jason Sanders has won four AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, three AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors and earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2020. Jakeem Grant finished second in the NFL in punt return yards (330) in 2020. The Dolphins won the NFL’s 2019 Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play of the Year when punter Matt Haack threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Sanders in a win over Philadelphia. Crossman has spent 15 seasons as an NFL special teams coordinator, including stints in Carolina (2005-09), Detroit (2010-12) and Buffalo (2013-18) in addition to his time in Miami.
Godsey spent the past two seasons (2019-20) coaching Miami’s tight ends. In 2020, he oversaw a unit that was the most productive tight end group in Dolphins history, totaling 91 receptions and 1,061 receiving yards. The unit’s 11 touchdown receptions were tied for the most by a tight end group in team history. Tight end Mike Gesicki had 703 receiving yards in 2020, the fourth-most by a tight end in the NFL and the second-most by a tight end in Dolphins history. Godsey has previous offensive coordinator experience, coordinating Houston’s offense from 2015-16. He joined the Dolphins from Detroit, where he served as quarterbacks coach in 2018.
Studesville has spent the past three seasons (2018-20) in Miami as running backs coach. Entering his 25th season as an NFL coach, Studesville has spent 20 seasons coaching running backs and part of teams that have won two conference championships and one Super Bowl. In 2020, he helped second-year running back Myles Gaskin average 97.2 scrimmage yards per game, which ranked 10th in the NFL (min. five games). In his first season with the Dolphins in 2018, Studesville helped Miami’s running game improve from 24th to ninth in the NFL in yards per carry (4.68). Studesville has coached running backs for the N.Y. Giants (2001-03), Buffalo (2004-09) and Denver (2010-16) and also has experience as a run game coordinator for Buffalo (2008-09) and Miami (2018).
Burks spent the past two seasons (2019-20) as a coaching assistant with the Dolphins working with the team’s cornerbacks. He helped Miami’s defense lead the NFL in takeaways (29) and third-down defense (31.2 pct.) in 2020 while finishing sixth in scoring (21.1 points allowed per game). Burks worked closely with cornerback Xavien Howard, who earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2020 by tying the franchise’s single-season interceptions record (10). It was the most interceptions by an NFL player since 2007 (Antonio Cromartie). Burks has also coached collegiately at Southeastern Oklahoma State (2014-18), Texas A&M-Commerce (2013), West Texas A&M (2012) and East Central (2011).
Clark was Miami’s outside linebackers coach in 2020. He helped the defense finish sixth in the NFL in scoring (21.1 points allowed per game) and lead the league in takeaways (29) and third-down defense (31.2 pct.). Miami had three linebackers total at least five sacks in the same season for the first time in team history. Clark joined the Dolphins after spending two seasons (2018-19) as the defensive line coach at Illinois. He also spent two seasons (2016-17) at USC, where he served as assistant defensive line and outside linebackers coach. Clark is a native of Tampa, Florida and played defensive tackle at California (2009-14).
Flaherty joined the Dolphins in 2019 as a coaching assistant and has worked with the offensive line and tight ends in his tenure with the team. He joined the Dolphins after serving as a graduate assistant at North Carolina State (2017-18), where he worked with the offensive line. Flaherty played four seasons (2013-16) on the offensive line at Towson, starting games at both right guard and center.
Judge served as a quality control coach for Miami during the past two seasons (2019-20), where he worked with the team’s offense and tight ends. In 2020, he helped the Dolphins’ tight ends unit post the most productive season by any tight end group in team history. Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen combined for 91 receptions for 1,061 yards, both team records for a tight ends unit. Prior to Miami, Judge spent 11 seasons (2008-18) at the Naval Academy, where he coached fullbacks.
Leonard is entering his third season with the Dolphins after he spent the 2020 campaign as assistant defensive line coach. He served as linebackers coach in 2019. Last year, Leonard helped the Dolphins defense finish sixth in the NFL in scoring (21.1 points allowed per game) and lead the league in takeaways (29) and third-down defense (31.2 pct.). He helped Miami win 10 games for the first time since 2016. Leonard joined the Dolphins from the N.Y. Giants, where he spent six seasons (2013-18) in a variety of roles, including defensive assistant (2013-16), assistant defensive line coach (2017) and outside linebackers coach (2018).
2021 MIAMI DOLPHINS COACHING STAFF
Brian Flores – Head Coach
Danny Crossman – Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
Josh Boyer – Defensive Coordinator
George Godsey – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
Eric Studesville – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs
Gerald Alexander – Defensive Backs
Charles Burks – Cornerbacks
Anthony Campanile – Linebackers
Austin Clark – Defensive Line
Brendan Farrell – Assistant Special Teams
Shawn Flaherty – Assistant Offensive Line
Charlie Frye – Quarterbacks
Josh Grizzard – Wide Receivers
Lemuel Jeanpierre – Offensive Line
Mike Judge – Assistant Tight Ends
Curt Kuntz – Assistant Defensive Backs
Rob Leonard – Outside Linebackers
Dave Puloka – Head Strength & Conditioning
Jim Arthur – Assistant Strength & Conditioning
Miami Dolphins release Van Noy
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March 10, 2021
Miami Dolphins release Van Noy
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have released linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Van Noy joined the Dolphins in 2020 and played in 14 games with 13 starts, totaling 69 tackles (46 solo), six sacks, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He spent parts of four seasons (2016-19) in New England and three (2014-16) in Detroit, originally entering the league as a second-round pick (40th overall) by the Lions in the 2014 NFL draft.
Miami Dolphins tender 3 exclusive rights free agents
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March 8, 2021
Miami Dolphins tender 3 exclusive rights free agents
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins today announced that they have tendered the following exclusive rights free agents: linebacker Calvin Munson, cornerback Nik Needham and cornerback Jamal Perry.
Munson joined the Dolphins on Dec. 17, 2019 after being signed off New England’s practice squad. He played in all 16 games for the Dolphins in 2020, totaling six tackles (four solo) and three special teams stops (two solo). During his NFL career, Munson has played in 32 games with seven starts. He originally entered the league as an undrafted college free agent with the N.Y. Giants on May 12, 2017.
Needham was promoted from Miami’s practice squad on Oct. 12, 2019 and has played in 28 games with 17 starts for the Dolphins over the past two seasons (2019-20). He has totaled 112 career tackles (77 solo) with two sacks, four interceptions, 18 passes defensed and one forced fumble. In 2020, Needham played in all 16 games and made five starts. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Miami on May 9, 2019.
Perry joined the Dolphins on Feb. 15, 2019 and has played in 27 games with seven starts for Miami over the past two seasons (2019-20). He’s totaled 72 career tackles (47 solo) with one interception and seven passes defensed. Perry also has 11 career special teams stops (seven solo). He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with Philadelphia on May 11, 2017.
