With the Tuesday deadline fast approaching, it's time to take one last shot at predicting the 53-man roster for the Miami Dolphins.  I gave my initial projection ahead of the Dolphins' first preseason game. 

To be clear, this is the initial 53-man roster to be revealed on Tuesday WITH THE INJURED PLAYERS INCLUDED.  If they're going on injured reserve, they must be on the initial 53-man roster and then placed on injured reserve in order to be able to come back later in the year.  There will be some players not on the original 53 that will be eligible to be added later without counting towards the initial 53 on Tuesday – i.e., Nik Needham going from the active to the reserve/PUP list.  

There are also a lot of things that the team knows that we, the media, don't fully.  Such as the length of an injury and whether that necessitates putting a player on injured reserve, or if they can add him to the 53 and expect him to be back in a week or two.  That decision as to whether a player will go on IR or not can have a cascading effect on adding an extra player at the position, and therefore subtracting one from another group. 

With that all being said, here's a prediction as to how the roster will look on Tuesday.

Quarterbacks (3): Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, Skylar Thompson

I thought long and hard about dropping this to two, as Thompson has been flat-out bad this preseason.  I don't see him getting picked up through waivers, and thus the Dolphins could have their third QB on the practice squad.  However, given Tua's history of injuries and missed time, any risk of not protecting a third QB is likely too much of one.  He makes it…I think. 

Running Backs/Fullback (5): Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, Jr., De'Von Achane, Salvon Ahmed, Alec Ingold

No change here.  However, Chris Brooks has made a very fair case to make this roster.  It would be a mild surprise to see him, but not a total shock.  He should be a practice squad lock, at minimum.  Wilson keeps his roster spot based on his contract, as the Dolphins would actually lose cap space by releasing him now due to his dead cap hit; the team could save $3 million in cap space by releasing him after the new league year starts in March.  

Wide Receiver (6): Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Braxton Berrios, Erik Ezukanma, Cedric Wilson, Jr., Robbie Chosen

With Miami needing to carry multiple players on IR on the initial roster, it wouldn't be a total surprise to see them go with 5 receivers on the initial roster, then immediately add one back after shifting players to IR.  Chosen would be that player, but for now, he just makes it over River Cracraft for the final spot.

Tight End (4): Durham Smythe, Eric Saubert, Elijah Higgins, Tyler Kroft

If Saubert is headed to IR, this tight end room looks right.  If he's not, I think Kroft drops off and the team perhaps carries an extra defensive lineman (Brandon Pili) or an additional safety or cornerback.  Kroft doesn't do much really well, but he does block better than Higgins.  Higgins gets the nod over Julian Hill, a practice squad candidate.

Offensive Line (9): Terron Armstead, Austin Jackson, Kendall Lamm, Robert Hunt, Connor Williams, Isaiah Wynn, Dan Feeney, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Jones

Miami could opt to place Robert Jones, who will be out 4-6 weeks, on the initial roster and then onto injured reserve, which could open up a spot for Lester Cotton or someone else.

Defensive Line (5): Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Zach Sieler, Emmanuel Ogbah, Da'Shawn Hand

Hand and Pili are the only ones on the cut line out of a group of underperforming reserve defensive linemen.  The former gets the nod here based on experience, although it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team go the other direction.  Ogbah is listed with the team as a DE, but he's been deployed as an edge rusher. Jaylen Twyman should be a strong practice squad candidate, along with Pili.  This is a position for which Miami will likely be looking around the league for depth help.

Linebackers (7): Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel, David Long, Jr., Jerome Baker, Duke Riley, Channing Tindall

Reed comes off the roster in this version, as the team has edge/OLB in Chubb, Phillips, Van Ginkel, and Obgah.  He and Mitchell Agude have very strong chances at practice squad spots, as does A.J. Johnson, who came in too late to earn a spot. 

Cornerbacks (6): Jalen Ramsey, Xavien Howard, Kader Kohou, Cam Smith, Eli Apple, Noah Ibginoghene

Despite a poor showing on Saturday, Igbinoghene gets the slight nod over Keion Crossen for the final spot.  The Dolphins could save over $3 million in cap space with no dead cap hit by releasing Crossen, so that makes it very tempting to release him in a close competition, with him potentially being re-signed after Ramsey is placed on IR.  Nik Needham will transition to the reserve/PUP list, making him eligible to return after four games.  

Safeties (5): Jevon Holland, Brandon Jones, DeShon Elliott, Elijah Campbell, Trill Williams

Campbell appears to be headed for injured reserve despite not suffering a ligament tear in his knee on Saturday night.  That would leave four safeties, with Williams making the roster based on his versatility – and pure depth necessity. And with Jones not playing in the preseason while still recovering from an ACL tear last year, the team could have its eyes on other teams' roster cut downs. 

Specialists (3): Jason Sanders, Jake Bailey, Blake Ferguson

Still locked in since the initial 53 projection, since no new players have been added. 

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Featured image via Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports