Veteran Brennan Scarlett is back with the Miami Dolphins, a little than three months after being placed on injured reserve. The Dolphins signed the linebacker to the practice squad Thursday, filling the opening created when defensive lineman Ben Stille was poached by the Cleveland Browns and signed to their active roster. This is an interesting signing for the Dolphins because Scarlett has physical dimensions suitable for him to play the defensive end role that Emmanuel Ogbah played before he landed on injured reserve this week with torn triceps. Scarlett is listed at 6-4, 263; Ogbah is listed at 6-4,278. It's also important to note that Scarlett told The Miami Herald in the spring that he had spent a lot of time working at defensive end during OTAs. The Dolphins currently have four players listed as defensive linemen on their active roster, but Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler, Raekwon Davis and John Jenkins fit the mold of interior linemen in four-man alignments, whereas Ogbah is more of a traditional 4-3 defensive end. So it could be that Scarlett fills that role, either through practice squad elevation or being signed to the 53-man roster. The Dolphins also have option of using a 3-4 look on more snaps with their great depth at the edge defender spot with Jaelan Phillips, newcomer Bradley Chubb, Melvin Ingram and Andrew Van Ginkel. Scarlett was placed on injured reserve Aug. 30 and subsequently released off IR. NFL rules permit a player to return to a team putting him on IR, but only after sitting out at least three weeks, plus the game equivalent of any injury settlement. After signing as a UFA from the Houston Texans in the spring of 2021, Scarlett proceeded to play 13 games with four starts for Miami last season and had 19 tackles on defense. Of his 436 total snaps on the season, 270 came on special teams. THE UPDATED PRACTICE SQUAD With the moves this week, here's how the practice squad looks after the Scarlett signing: FB Jake Bargas CB Kalon Barnes DT Josiah Bronson CB Tino Ellis OL James Empey
