? Defensive back: The Dolphins jersey kept nine to start last season, but if Allen is on the 53-man roster, they likely would need to keep 10, including six cornerbacks: Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Benny Sapp, Jason Allen, Nolan Carroll and Will Allen.
Wake, Misi, Anderson and Alama-Francis are positioned to be four of the outside linebackers, and Erik Walden has had some good moments, too. Quentin Moses remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Rookie Chris McCoy also is competing.
Starting inside linebacker Karlos Dansby said he expects Crowder to play in the opener.
A fourth inside linebacker is probably needed because starter Channing Crowder remained sidelined Sunday with an undisclosed injury. Asked if Crowder will be ready for the opener against Buffalo, Sparano said, ``I don't know right now.''
The Dolphins also gave outside linebacker Charlie Anderson some work at inside linebacker during Friday's game, which Sparano said makes him more valuable.
? Linebacker: The Dolphins kept nine to start last season, including three inside linebackers. Micah Johnson has made a push to be the fourth inside linebacker -- ``he's done a pretty good job,'' Sparano said -- with Austin Spitler and J.D. Folsom also competing for that opening.
? Defensive line: Miami kept seven to open last season. Besides starters Randy Starks, Jared Odrick and Kendall Langford, backups Tony McDaniel and Paul Soliai are in good position. Marques Douglas and Charles Grant are favorites to be the final two, with Lionel Dotson, Ryan Baker and Montavious Stanley competing.
? Offensive line: The Dolphins opened last season with eight but might keep nine, especially if they keep Garner on the 53-man roster. Seven appear set. That leaves Cory Procter, Lydon Murtha, Andrew Gardner (who has struggled in the preseason), Andrew Hartline and Ray Feinga (out the past week with a finger injury) competing for perhaps one job.
? Running back: The Dolphins opened last season with five, including fullback Lousaka Polite, and the same group is back. The Dolphins could survive with four running backs, but that seems unlikely -- remember, Patrick Cobbs and Lex Hilliard have strong value on special teams.
? Quarterback: cheap Chad Henne jersey , Chad Pennington and Tyler Thigpen are the likely three, with probably no room for Pat White.
? Receiver: Miami is likely to keep five, with Marlon Moore making a strong case for a job. The final two slots likely will go to Moore, Patrick Turner, Roberto Wallace or someone not on the roster.
The Dolphins opened last season with four tight ends, but Miami probably will keep no more than three and might keep two -- Anthony Fasano and David Martin. Even with Haynos' injury, John Nalbone is far from a sure bet. Asked about Nalbone's play, Sparano didn't give an opinion but said he has played the most snaps of the tight ends going back to May practices.
? Tight end: Sparano said he has no final diagnosis on the foot injury that Joey Haynos sustained Friday, but he will be out ``a little while.'' Haynos was on crutches, and it's difficult to see him on the 53-man roster if he misses extended time.
How the roster shakes out by position:
Sparano said he has chosen a starting center but wouldn't disclose it. Jake Grove opened Friday's game with the first team ahead of Joe Berger.
``We're looking at him there right now,'' Sparano said of Alama-Francis' first-team work. ``Not necessarily a change. I would say it's about trying to align in some situations.''
Nearly all of the starting lineup appears set, but the wholesale Dolphins jersey are still experimenting a bit. During Sunday's practice, Ikaika Alama-Francis replaced Koa Misi with the first team at outside linebacker opposite Cameron Wake, though Misi also received some first-team snaps.
That means they must either be on the 53-man roster or placed on injured reserve, which means missing the season. Sparano said Allen ``is doing a nice job in his rehab'' but had no timetable. Garner likely would not be able to play for at least several more weeks.
Because Nate Garner (foot) and Will Allen (knee) began training camp on the active roster, they are not eligible to be placed on the physically unable to perform list, the team confirmed.
One difficult decision, Sparano said, is deciding whether to keep injured players on the 53-man roster during the regular season.
Coach Tony Sparano said Sunday that ``a large percentage'' of his roster is set but there are ``a couple guys I really need to play'' in the final preseason game Thursday at Dallas. ``It's important for some players -- make no mistake about that.''
The Dolphins must make only one roster move by Tuesday's cheap NFL hats deadline to trim to 75 players. But many more moves await late this week, when teams must get down to 53 players by Saturday.
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