It’s been reported from a few sources that the Dolphins have apparently waived LB/DE Matt Roth. Roth was a second round pick back from the Saban days thought rather smallish to play DE in this defense and was switched over to LB last year. He did pretty well in the role (53 tackles, 5 sacks and 4 pass defensed) and it was expected he’d be an even larger playmaker with a second year in this system and in this new role. In the spring, he visited a specialist for that and had surgery. By all accounts Roth was healed and ready but rock but that’s when things got all Robert Stack Unsolved Mysteries on us. Instead, Roth came into training camp with a lingering groin issue that was initially attributed to ‘feeling under the weather’ by Sparano. Things got weirder when his agent, Twitter-savant Drew Rosenhaus, went on Sports Extra and blamed Roth’s absence on his lingering groin injury. Roth proceeded to miss all of training camp and all the preseason games and was seen every day working out on his own and sporting that ubiquitous ballcap. Even we here at FinsNation began to think that something was a bit ‘off’ about this Roth absence, instead attributing it to allegedly drunken misfit behavior and particularly vigorous experiences with the experimental Jamaican sexual deviance trend of “daggering“. (Note: Unconfirmed at this point in time)
This is a curious move by the Dolphins, especially considering the way the injury bug has bitten the fuck out of us like a goddamn Bullet Ant. We could easily go down a LB or two on a single series, not to mention the 6 games that remain in the regular season alone. Was it worth it to waive a young, starting-caliber LB that other teams will kill themselves over to pick up now that he’s out there??? In waiving Roth, the Dolphins picked up Ikaika Alama-Francis – a DL that last took snaps in ‘08 with the winless Detroit Lions. At 6′5″, 290 I don’t know to what extent this guy can fill some of the giant gaping black hole left in the wake of Ferguson being placed on the IR. I don’t understand the move at all but there was clearly some falling out over the lying that forced the team to put Roth on the PUP where he stayed all season until the 2nd Jets game. There also may have been lingering issues about his contract and the team must have felt with better recent play from Cam Wake, Charlie Anderson and Reggie Torbor that we could shed this guy. Still, Roth was liked around FN for his obvious chemical imbalance and willingness to beat the shit out of non-super hero built motherfuckers if it came down to a bar fight. I’ll miss the guy.
Your thoughts in the comments.
/ shrugs shoulders, shakes head slowly, turns around and walks away…
-DRK
