The Dolphins worked out several veteran defensive ends on Tuesday, but didn’t sign any of them and that led to speculation that they’d be promoting from within to fill William Hayes’ spot on the 53-man roster.
That’s precisely what happened on Wednesday. The Dolphins announced that they have promoted Jonathan Woodard from the practice squad. Hayes is officially on injured reserve after tearing his ACL last Sunday and the Dolphins also announced the signing of linebacker Martell Speight to take the spot vacated by wide receiver Tanner McEvoy’s departure.
Woodard was a seventh-round pick by the Jaguars in 2016 and missed his entire rookie year after tearing his Achilles. He was waived by Jacksonville last September and split the season on practice squads in Atlanta and Miami. He had eight tackles and a sack for the Dolphins in the preseason this year.
Andre Branch is expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury, leaving Woodard, Cameron Wake, Robert Quinn and Charles Harris as the healthy defensive ends in Miami.
