The Dolphins continued tweaking their 53-man roster Monday when they signed fifth-year center Travis Swanson, re-signed tackle Sam Young and waived safety Maurice Smith.
Swanson spent his first four NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions after being a third-round pick in the 2014 draft. He was the third of nine centers selected that year after being a three-year starter at the University of Arkansas.
In Detroit, Swanson started 42 of the 53 games he played, including all 37 the past three seasons. He signed with the New York Jets this offseason as an unrestricted free agents, but was among the team's final roster cuts.
In Swanson's first two seasons in Detroit, he was coached by current Dolphins offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn.
The Dolphins now have nine offensive linemen on their roster: Laremy Tunsil, Josh Sitton, Daniel Kilgore, Jesse Davis, Ja'Wuan James, Ted Larsen, Zach Sterup, Young and Swanson.
Young was re-signed one day after being released. He went through a similar scenario last year when he was released Sept. 2 and re-signed two days later.
Smith appeared in six games as a rookie free agent in 2017 before his season ended when he was placed on injured reserve with a stomach problem.
Numbers game: For those keeping score at home, new Dolphins quarterback Luke Falk will wear number 4, wide receiver Tanner McEvoy will wear 16 and Swanson will wear 66. The number 4 was last worn in a regular season game by punter Matt Darr in 2015-16; punter Matt Haack had number 16 last year before he switched to number 2 this season; and the last player to wear 66 was guard Jacques McClendon in 2015.
Happy Tiger: Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux wasn't shy about talking about the college football showdown between the University of Miami and his alma mater, LSU, on Sunday night, and he certainly didn't stop during and after LSU's decisive 33-17 victory in Dallas. Godchaux's numerous tweets included some good-natured trash talking, along with a shout-out to former roommate running back Nick Brossette for his 50-yard touchdown run.
Headed to new teams: Running back Buddy Howell, who came up short in his attempt to make the 53-man roster as a rookie free agent, now will get a chance with the Houston Texans, who claimed him off waivers Sunday. One of his new running back partners will be former Dolphins starter Lamar Miller. Tight end Thomas Duarte, who also was among the Dolphins cuts Saturday, was signed to the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad.
