Miami Dolphins Sign Chris Culliver

Cornerback Chris Culliver was the third-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. He saw plenty of action as a backup corner in his first two seasons and was pretty impressive until he struggled when he had to start during the 49ers playoff run in 2012.

Then a knee injury forced Culliver to miss the entire 2013 season, causing him to be rusty early in 2014. But Culliver would shake that rust off in time to finish the season as a Top 15 cornerbacks according to Pro Football focus, allowing a completion percentage of 50.7 and a 66.5 QB rating.

Culliver, with his height, length and speed, excelled in man coverage, making him an intriguing free agent in 2015. And the Washington Redskins were the ones to bite, giving him a four-year, $32 million deal. But last November, Culliver tore ACL and MCL plus the Redskins signed Josh Norman.

Culliver isn’t the best fit for the zone defense the Redskins now run anyway. So he was released by Washington in May and didn’t have a team to play for two weeks into training camp. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins are in desperate need of a cornerback.

Second-round draft pick Xavien Howard, who was expected to start as a rookie, is on the PUP list with a knee injury. The Dolphins brought in cornerback Byron Maxwell in free agency but outside of that, the team doesn’t have a corner that they have high hopes for.

So the Dolphins went out and agreed to an incentive-laden, one-year contract with Culliver. If he can play well in 2016 and show he’s back from his knee injuries, he’ll be hot on the market in 2017. This could be a good deal for both sides so stay tuned.