The Miami Dolphins may not have a ton of hope for the rest of this season.
An 0-3 start, and a season-ending injury to De’Von Achane, have really put a damper on things.
That doesn’t mean the Dolphins can just stop trying to get better, though. They’ll work to improve the roster every week, and the players on the field will do anything they can to win football games.
It also gives the Miami front office an obvious mandate to build for the future.
They made a couple of signings on Tuesday, but one in particular was fascinating. One of the Dolphins’ newest players was a defensive player in Division I football but is now playing offense in the NFL.
Dolphins Sign James Ester
The Dolphins signed a player named James Ester to their practice squad on Tuesday.
Ester is listed as an offensive lineman, but it’s not that simple.
He was a defensive lineman at Northern Illinois from 2019 through 2023. In his college career, he had 121 tackles, including nine sacks.
The Green Bay Packers signed Ester as an undrafted free agent in 2024, and he spent the last two seasons with Green Bay.
There, he worked to impress Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who is now the Dolphins head coach.
Ester never got in to an NFL game in his two seasons with Green Bay, though, and this season, a change arrived.
The Dolphins signed Ester in the offseason, and they chose to turn him into an offensive lineman.
The goal was to make him into a guard, but that didn’t result in a roster spot to open the season.
Ester was actually dinged up in the preseason, and so when the Dolphins cut him, they did so with an injury settlement.
Apparently, Ester must be healthy enough now to return to Miami’s practice squad. It’s actually a good outcome for him, because he hasn’t been working at the switch to being an NFL offensive lineman for very long. This will give him a chance to continue trying to grow in that — and eventually, maybe the rest of football will find out if the Dolphins were right in their hunch to move Ester to the other side of the ball.
Dolphins Workouts
The Dolphins also brought a bunch of other players in for workouts on Tuesday, and the list is fascinating mostly because it included four running backs.
Following Achane’s injury, it makes sense that the Dolphins would consider other RBs to sign.
Damien Martinez, Hassan Haskins, Kenny McIntosh and Elijah Tau-Tolliver were the four backs who worked out Tuesday.
The Dolphins haven’t made any signings as of Wednesday morning for their backfield.
Dolphins Sign Former Defensive Player to Play Offense