The Miami Dolphins have secured their latest addition to the linebacker room – and this latest pickup features an athlete similar to the guy he’ll replace in the Dolphins’ locker room from 2020 onwards. Miami has reached an agreement with former Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Duke Riley, who will take the place of Kamu Grugier-Hill as a critical associate of special teams and in-depth presence in the Dolphins’ linebacker room in 2020.
Dolphins sign former Eagles / Falcons LB Duke Riley for a one-year deal, the source says. @mike_e_kaye 1st.
One more depth addition to the front of the 7 – adding competition on defense and special teams.
– Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) March 19, 2021
Riley is a fast linebacker who will follow Grugier-Hill in more ways than one: Grugier-Hill held a special team / reporting linebacker role with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019 before signing with the Dolphins last season for a 1-year deal . His replacement in Philadelphia? Duke Riley. Grugier-Hill’s replacement in Miami? Also Duke Riley.
So that’s a nice layer to this signing for the Dolphins, who added Benardrick McKinney via trade earlier in the off-season before adding Riley to help the Dolphins completely overhaul the linebacker room.
As an athlete, Riley is quite a dynamic linebacker. He went through the 2017 NFL Draft process as a 232 linebacker and with a 4.58s 40-yard dash to his credit: he can certainly run. And with McKinney serving as a heavy-duty thumper between tackles, the Dolphins always needed another sleek linebacker to mate with Jerome Baker in obvious passing situations. Riley should be given the opportunity to compete for such a role; but given the short-term status of his contract, it would be wise to avoid the Dolphins in next month’s NFL Draft setting up a cover line backer to bolster the group and add more of a long-term fix to the mix.
There are several impressive linebacker prospects out there, including Baron Browning from Ohio State and Jabrill Cox from LSU. Both would expect their names to be called in the 2nd or 3rd round, where Miami has three combined picks (No. 36 in total, 50 in total, and 81 in total).