The Dolphins have signed 31-year old RB Larry Johnson.  Johnson played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Redskins last year and he carried the ball 5 times for 2 yards (0.4 ypc).  He has now played in 84 games (55 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,426 times for 6,221 yards (4.4 ypc) with 55 TD runs.  Johnson has also caught 154 passes for 1,373 yards (8.9 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Johnson will have a good shot to beat out Lex Hilliard for the #3 RB in 2011, if he can show that he still has a lot left in the gas tank the next couple of weeks.  I like this move for the Dolphins as they don’t have much to lose in giving Johnson a tryout.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Dolphins have released Larry Johnson.

UPDATE:  (9/8/2011) – The Dolphins have re-signed Larry Johnson.

The Dolphins have signed 26-year old linebacker Marvin Mitchell.  Mitchell played in all 16 games for the Saints last year and he had 43 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 55 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 89 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  This was a good signing for the Dolphins as Mitchell will give them depth at LB while also helping out on special teams.

The Dolphins have signed 26-year old linebacker David Nixon.  Nixon played in 4 games for the Rams and Texans last year and he had 10 tackles.  Nixon has now played in 7 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 10 tackles.  This was a depth signing for the Dolphins and little more.  If Nixon is going to make the Dolphins’ roster, he’s going to have to do it on special teams.

The Dolphins have signed 28-year old OT Ray Willis.  Willis didn’t play last year for the Seahawks due to injury.  He has played in 44 games (26 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  This was a good signing for the Dolphins as you can never have too many quality offensive linemen on the roster.

The Miami Dolphins have signed 26-year old QB Kevin O’Connell to a 1-year deal and they have cut 26-year old QB Tom Brandstater.  O’Connell played in 2 games (0 starts) back in 2008 for the Patriots and he completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 23 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (73.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for -6 yards (-2.0 ypc).  That is the extent of O’Connell’s experience.  He will serve as the Fins’ #3 QB behind Chad Henne and Matt Moore.  Brandstater has yet to play in a NFL game and he will not be missed.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Dolphins have released Kevin O’Connell.

The Dolphins have signed 36-year old DE/OLB Jason Taylor to a 1-year deal.  Taylor played in 16 games for the Jets last year and he had 36 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 6 passes defensed.  He has now played in 217 games in his first 14 years in the NFL and he has 756 tackles, 52 tackles for a loss, 132.5 sacks, 46 forced fumbles, 29 fumble recoveries, 92 passes defensed and 8 interceptions (3 returned for TDs).  Taylor comes back to the Dolphins for what is likely his last year in the NFL and I look for him to want to go out with a bang.  Taylor has played in 188 games in his first 14 years with the Dolphins and he has 691 tackles, 46 tackles for a loss, 124 sacks, 43 forced fumbles, 27 fumble recoveries, 77 passes defensed and 8 interceptions (3 returned for a TD).  Taylor still has something left in the gas tank as he proved last year with the Jets.  I look for him to play well for the Dolphins in 2011.

The Dolphins have signed 32-year old OT Marc Colombo.  Colombo played in 15 games (all starts) for the Cowboys last year.  He has now played in 95 games (79 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL.  You can never have enough solid and experienced linemen so I really like this move for the Dolphins as Colombo still appears to have some gas left in the tank.

The Dolphins have signed 29-year old DT Ronald Fields.  Fields played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 22 tackles.  Fields has now played in 81 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 134 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and he has defensed 1 pass.  Fields will provide depth on the D-Line but he’s not an impact player.

The Dolphins have signed 28-year old linebacker Kevin Burnett to a 4-year, $21 million dollar deal.  Burnett played in 16 games for the Chargers last year and he had 95 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Burnett has now played in 88 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 308 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 13 passes defensed and 3 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  Burnett will team up to give the Dolphins a really nice set of inside linebackers as he will team up with Karlos Dansby.  It’s going to be hard to run up the middle against the Fins this year.

The Dolphins have signed 26-year old QB Matt Moore to a 2-year deal.  Moore played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Panthers last year and he completed 79 of 143 passes (55.2%) for 857 yards with 5 TD passes and 10 INTs (55.6 QB Rating).  Moore also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) last season.  Moore has now played in 22 games (13 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 227 of 392 passes (57.9%) for 2,640 yards with 16 TDs and 17 INTs (73.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 20 times for 27 yards (1.4 ypc) last year.  Moore is 7-6 (53.8%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  He dropped the ball last season in his first chance to start in the NFL but in his defense he really got beat up.  Moore could challenge Chad Henne for the starting job at QB in 2011.  Even if he loses out to Henne, Moore will likely be a solid backup for the Fins.