Miami Dolphins cornerback Cam Smith is set to make his season debut Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals after he was activated from the team’s injured reserve Monday.
To make room on the 53-man roster, the Dolphins placed return specialist Braxton Berrios on the injured reserve. Berrios suffered a knee injury Sunday late in Miami’s 16-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, an MRI revealed a torn ACL for the returner.
Smith, 23, was the Dolphins’ top pick in the 2023 NFL draft, taken with the No. 51 overall selection in the second round. However, he rarely saw the field as a rookie aside from special teams, and played only 20 defensive snaps.
While the cornerback appeared primed to play a bigger role in 2024, Smith suffered a hamstring injury in the Dolphins’ second preseason game and landed on injured reserve when the team cut its roster down to 53 players. In his absence, undrafted rookie Storm Duck has been called upon to step into the lineup as a reserve defensive back behind Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, and Kader Kohou.
The Dolphins opened Smith’s 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve on Oct. 2, meaning the team had to decide in the next few days whether it would return the cornerback to the active roster or lose him for the remainder of the year.
