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Former Gophers Safety Cedric Thompson Sticks On Miami Dolphins’ Practice Squad

By Brad Berreman

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Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Safety Cedric Thompson started 32 games over his final three seasons at Minnesota, and he finished second on the Golden Gophers in tackles in 2014 (83) with two interceptions and four pass breakups during his senior season. A standout showing at Minnesota’s Pro Day, which notably included a 40.5″ vertical jump and a sub 4.4-second 40-yard dash time, took him from likely to go undrafted to a fifth-round pick (150th overall) of the Miami Dolphins in May.

Thompson was part of Miami’s recent roster cuts, as they reduced their roster to the mandatory 53 players on Saturday. But he went unclaimed on waivers, and the Dolphins re-signed Thompson to their practice squad on Sunday.

Per Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

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Louis Delmas’ season-ending torn right ACL in mid-August opened up the starting free safety spot for the Dolphins, but Thompson struggled during the preseason and Pro Football Focus gave him their 12th-lowest grade among 159 qualified safeties. Reshad Jones and Walt Aikens are Miami’s top two options at free safety now, but the opportunity still seems to be there for Thompson to earn a bigger role during his rookie season.

The 53-man roster a team goes into Week 1 with is obviously fairly fluid throughout the season, as injuries and other circumstances alter things. With that in mind I think Thompson has a great chance to move from the practice squad to Miami’s active roster fairly quickly this season, and I would not be surprised if he cracks the starting lineup at some point.

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