Dolphins OLB Malik Reed among Monday cuts ahead of Tuesday deadline

The Miami Dolphins are releasing veteran outside linebacker and March free-agent signing Malik Reed, according to ESPN.

With the NFL deadline for teams to trim rosters down from 90 players to an initial 53-man roster set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, some of the cuts began trickling out Monday.

Reed was among players the Dolphins signed in the initial wave of free agency this offseason. He has previous experience under new Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio from his time as head coach of the Denver Broncos, and Reed was also teammates with Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb there.

But Reed never stood out in the preseason or training camp in Miami, nor minicamp and organized team activities before that in May in June.

An undrafted player out of Nevada in 2019, Reed first developed to start eight games that rookie season. Between the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Broncos, he made 13 starts apiece and combined for 96 tackles, 13 sacks and three forced fumbles. Reed had a career-high eight sacks in 2020.

Reed was traded to the Steelers ahead of the 2022 season. In Pittsburgh, he saw a decrease in playing time, starting just two games, registering 25 tackles and a sack. He has been a special teams contributor throughout his career.

The release of Reed opens up a decent chance that either Mitchell Agude or Garrett Nelson are kept on the Dolphins’ initial active roster as undrafted rookies that can provide depth at outside linebacker. Both have been taken in by the starting edge combination of Chubb and Jaelan Phillips and have had good showings during camp and the summer.

The Dolphins are also cutting linebacker Aubrey Miller, offensive tackle Geron Christian and wide receiver Chris Coleman, according to the Miami Herald.

Defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman was waived, according to ESPN., as was fellow defensive lineman Josiah Bronson, per NFL Network. Both are strong candidates to return on Miami’s practice squad, where they were last season, after solid training camps.

Players that don’t make the initial active roster can be picked up by other teams. If they clear that, the Dolphins can bring them back to form their 16-player practice squad.

Ahead of the 2023 season, the league switched from having rounds of cuts to one final cut-down day. Previously, there were two waves of five cuts each before final deadline.

This story will be updated.