35-year old DT Jason Ferguson was facing a 8-game suspension at the start of the 2010 season and he decided it just wasn’t worth playing anymore as he has retired from the NFL.  Ferguson played in 9 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 23 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He played two years for the Dolphins appearing in 25 games in which he made 45 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  He finishes his career having played in 159 games in which he had 496 tackles, 9 passes defensed, 21.5 sacks and he forced 6 fumbles.  The Dolphins were ready to replace Ferguson for the first 8 games of the season anyway so they won’t likely miss him too much.

The Dolphins have released 29-year old linebacker Reggie Torbor.  Torbor played in all 16 games for the Fins last season and he had 37 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss, he defensed 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  Torbor played in 32 games in his two years with the Dolphins in which he had 54 tackles, defensed 4 passes, he had 1.5 sacks and he had 1 interception.  Torbor will likely hook on with another team for 2010 but the Dolphins likely won’t miss him much as they appear to have a lot of depth at linebacker.

The Dolphins have traded 28-year old OG Justin Smiley to the Jaguars for a future 7th round pick.  Smiley played in 15 games (12 starts) for the Fins last season and he played in 27 games (24 starts) in his two years with them.  The Dolphins were just glad to get anything for Smiley as they were getting close to releasing him and getting nothing.

The Dolphins have released linebacker Akin Ayodele.  Ayodele played in all 16 games for the Dolphins last season in which he made 71 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  He played in 32 games in his two years with the Dolphins and he made 146 tackles, defensed 4 passes, forced 1 fumble and he intercepted 2 passes.  The Dolphins will look to improve on Ayodele in 2010.

The Dolphins have released 32-year old OLB Joey Porter.  Porter played in 14 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 41 tackles, 9 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  Porter played in 46 games in his three years with the Dolphins in which he made 153 tackles, defensed 7 passes, had 32 sacks, forced 6 fumbles and he picked off 2 passes.  It’s the off field headaches that Porter caused last season which will have him looking for a new job.  He still has some game left and he won’t be easy for the Dolphins to replace in 2010.