Who are Dolphins’ longest tenured players after Bobby McCain release?
The Miami Dolphins have bid farewell to one of their longest tenured players this week, releasing defensive back Bobby McCain after six seasons together in South Florida. McCain, who as a 5th-round draft choice by the Dolphins out of Memphis in 2015, enjoyed a better career than most drafted in his range of the draft — a testament to his versatility as a defender. McCain, during his time with Miami, played nickel corner, outside cornerback and free safety over four different head coaches: Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell, Adam Gase and Brian Flores.
With McCain now on the outs, there is just one player who stands alone as the Dolphins’ longest tenured player — wide receiver DeVante Parker. Parker has logged the same number of seasons in Miami as McCain, but Parker was drafted two nights earlier in the 1st-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
But even when you extend the window to account for the three longest tenured Dolphins, the list is still quite recent.
WR DeVante Parker (1st-round, 2015)
CB Xavien Howard (2nd-round, 2016)
WR/KR Jakeem Grant (6th-round, 2016)
Grant is yet another player whose hold on a roster spot appears to be in jeopardy, as well. His receiving resume has been underwhelming and any time the Dolphins look to provide him with a bigger role, durability issues and drops spring up. Grant’s most appealing asset is his kick return duties — but Miami has drafted players with prominent return skills with two of their first three selections in this year’s draft: Jaylen Waddle & Jevon Holland.
Should Grant get the axe, OL Jesse Davis would move into the No. 3 spot on the list of longest tenured Dolphins. He was signed as a free agent in 2017. No other players remain on Miami’s roster from that offseason, either.
One player from the 2015 offseason. Two from 2016 (and one seemingly on the outs). And another one from 2017. This is the price you pay as an organization when you’re constantly playing musical chairs with head coaches and general managers and stability seems to escape you at every turn. The good news for Miami? They appear to have the right leadership in place, which means the Dolphins can start to further retain talent because it suits the long-term vision for the team.
But either way, it is quite startling to look over the Dolphins roster and realize that you can count on one hand the number of players who have been with the Dolphins for more than three seasons.
