The 49ers are set to add a player who should have a big role on their special teams units.
Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media reports that the team is finalizing a contract with defensive back Siran Neal. It is set to be a two-year deal.
Neal was a Bills fifth-round pick in the 2018 draft and he spent six seasons with the team before moving on to Miami for the 2024 season. Neal has seen action in 114 regular season games and 10 postseason games with special teams work accounting for the majority of his NFL snaps.
Neal has 126 tackles, a sack, seven passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in the regular season. He added 10 tackles, a sack, and a pass defensed in the playoffs.
The Dolphins are adding a former first-round pick.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Miami has agreed to a one-year deal with cornerback Artie Burns.
Burns, 29, spent the last three seasons with the Seahawks. He appeared in just four games last season, playing 51 defensive snaps and 55 special teams snaps. In 2023, he played 14 contests, playing 23 percent of defensive snaps and 46 percent of special teams snaps in games played.
The Steelers selected Burns at No. 25 overall in the 2016 draft. He’s played 90 games with 39 starts over his career, recording 38 passes defensed and four interceptions.
A South Florida native, Burns also played his college ball at Miami.
Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah has spent the last five seasons with the Dolphins, but talks about No. 6 have yet to lead to an agreement.
Ogbah’s agent Drew Rosenhaus said on WSVN on Sunday night that the Dolphins have offered his client a contract for the 2025 season but it’s not one Ogbah is ready to accept. Rosenhaus said, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, that the two sides “haven’t found common ground” on parameters of a deal.
Ogbah had 49 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and a forced fumble in 16 games for the Dolphins last season. He has 29.5 sacks over his entire run in Miami.
The Dolphins only have three defensive linemen under contract at the moment, so that’s an area they’ll need to address one way or another in the near future.
The Dolphins are set to add another punter to their roster.
According to multiple reports on Sunday, they have agreed to terms on a contract with former Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse. Stonehouse was not tendered last week as the Titans opted to sign Johnny Hekker as their new punter.
The move to sign Stonehouse comes after the Dolphins hired Craig Aukerman as their special teams coordinator. Aukerman’s last job was in Tennessee, which gives him a connection to Stonehouse that will be renewed in Miami.
Stonehouse averaged 52.2 yards per punt with the Titans, but his net was 41.9 yards per kick. He also had a pair of kicks blocked last season.
Jake Bailey is the returning punter for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins are adding former Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly to their front office.
Kelly will be a senior personnel executive in Miami, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Kelly spent the last three years in Las Vegas and was the Raiders’ interim general manager at the end of the 2023 season. He has also spent time working in personnel for the Bears and Broncos.
Multiple NFL teams have interviewed Kelly for their GM jobs, most recently the Jaguars this year.
