The Dolphins added a linebacker to their current roster making it 90 players trying out for 53 spots.  Josh Linam last played at University of Central Florida and stands 6'3" 237lbs. 

The spot was open after the recent release of Chad Johnson on Sunday. 

The Dolphins presumably will use Linam on Special Teams or as a linebacker this weekend to see what he has.

His career was highlighted by 165 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and three interceptions while at UCF.

He was most recently released by the San Diego Chargers on July 27th.

We will see what Linam can bring to this team defensively and maybe provide a spark and depth to the linebacking corps.

The very anticipated second episode of Hard Knocks got off to a very suspiring and emotional start. 

HBO gave us a glimpse into the heart wrenching loss that Joe Philbin had to suffer when he lost a child. The passing of Reid's son must have been extremely difficult for Philbin to deal with and Hard Knocks just showed another reason why the Dolphins head coach should be admired.

The show then progressed into the Les Brown story line which probably wasn't what the national audience was looking forward to. The show did progress as we got to hear Ryan Tannehill's vocals as he sang Lean On Me to the whole team.

Philbin had a chance to talk to Dolphins legend Bob Greise and told him how much he liked Tannehill.In some interesting news Jeff Ireland had a one on one with SI's Peter King in which he told King he was a fan of the Phins receiving core. ( That makes one of us ) However he did say he believes the team is full of 4,5 and 6th string receivers and they need 3,2 and 1's. Our first glimpse of Chad on Hard Knocks was watching him fail to gain separation from Sean Smith which could be the real reason why the Dolphins didn't keep him around. Also somewhat apparent is that Johnson might have had trouble picking up the playbook.

 In the first real informative part of the show we learnt that Garrard injured his knee playing in the pool with his son.  Jeff Ireland was not pleased with the news David Garrard required surgery and would miss up to 4 weeks.The show began to drag out a little bit as everyone was awaiting the news on how Chad was let go. Lauren Tannehill provided a slight distraction however I am sure most of the national audience watching must be a little dissapointed at this point of the episode. 

Finally HBO got to the story everyone was waiting for, we got to witness Philbin adressing the whole team about Chad's arrest. According to Coach Philbin, Chad knew what was coming and that he was going to get cut. 

From Ben Volin ‏@BenVolinPBP : Chad Johnson called director of security Stu Weinstein and thought he might get cut. Chad to Stu: "This is gonna be my death penalty."Chad knew he screwed up and told Joe, that he let him down. Philbin responded, "It's not just what happened last night. ...I wish it was different. I wish I could tell you something more encouraging."

Philbin then continued to tell Chad he thinks its best that him and the team part ways. It was very tough and sad to watch but was covered very well and in the end it seemed that Joe Philbin just didn't want Chad Johnson on his roster.

Just when things seemed better in Davie, Miami radio media dealt an ugly blow to the Miami Dolphins Franchise.  This morning, while conducting his daily program, Sid Rosenberg launched an offensive by having defensive player and team captain Karlos Dansby on the program.

Dansby is quoted as saying:

"I hate that we didn't stand behind him. I know the guys in the locker room would. But the organization felt a totally different way about the situation, and they probably had more information than we know. And they had to do what they had to do.

"It's going to be an even bigger distraction right now, I think, because of the simple fact we let him go. I think if we were going to be with the guy, if he was going to be our guy, we have to stand behind him ‒ even though the situation came about. He didn't get that third strike."

First, Dansby is right from a team standpoint that they really wanted to help Chad as a teammate and friend.  That is a very human response and very family like thing of him to say.  Dansby as the captain and often interviewed spokesperson has a right to respond to media questions on his own time.  There is no issue there.  However, the main issue that a fan may have with this is that Dansby erred in responding without knowing all of the facts.  It's one thing to say something supportive, but it's another to take what Dansby doesn't know and place indirect blame on Head Coach Joe Philbin. 

Interestingly, a tweet that did catch my attention was from @ckparrot (Chris Kouffman) who said:

"might be the only one happy to see Karlos Dansby speak out against the Johnson release. My reaction if I'm Philbin? Message sent."

This idea of media swirling around during this important time in Dolphins training camp is not absurd.  It is a fact.  What's also very interesting is how the media took exacly what happened yesterday at face value and accepted the decision of the Dolphins.  Many media members echoed the sentiments of the Dolphins having only "high character guys" and sticking with it. 

Even Peter King yesterday said that Chad Johnson was just plain "dumb" in his time in Miami, while writing his MMQB.

So, where do the Dolphins move on from here?

First Philbin has sent a message and he needs to stay consistent.  I think the same conversation will be had with Karlos Dansby and Karlos Dansby might want to stay on his good side.

Next, there are 7 receivers that are all vying for a shot at this team.  Of course, fan favorite Robert Wallace wants to take Johnson's spot, but he has to do a better job of reading the defense and catching the ball in the redzone. 

Dolphin land is always ripe for reality TV especially in the year that is officially Hard Knocks, so as a fan all there is to do is: buy the tickets, merchandise, and root for the Aqua and Orange!

When Joe Philbin said he was implementing a zero tolerance policy he meant it. Per Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero Joe Philbin made the decision to let go Chad Johnson and the ownership was behind him 100 %.

Although Chad does not have a long history of criminal offense and he generally only causes headaches with his mouth at press conferences, after everything the Dolphins went through with Brandon Marshall they were left with no choice but to move on from the diva receiver.

Joe Philbin passes his first test under pressure in Miami as he absolutely made the right decision to move on from Chad Johnson. This team cannot afford off the field distractions and Johnson’s
arrest goes against the family and strong culture Joe is trying to build in Miami. This move tells you everything you need to know about Joe, that he is a man of character.

Johnson released won’t cost the Dolphins much money as his contract was based on if he made the week 1 roster. This is not the Marshall trade where it cost them 2 draft picks, this was a zero risk signing. Chad's career as a Dolphin will be remembered as one dropped preseason catch and what could have been.

The Dolphins now might look to signing another vet receiver as a roster spot how now freed up however look for Roberto Wallace to receive a big jump in reps and an opportunity to become one of the leading options for this receiving core.

Wallace won’t be given an opportunity like this many times in his career and he must continue his strong play so far and continue to impress.

For Chad this might be the end of the road as it would be hard to believe that anyone at this point would be ready to take the plunge and offer him a contract.

Hard Knocks might not be as appealing for the national media but at least it there will be less headaches in Davie and more focus on football and only football. Hard Knocks is must watch tv for all Dolphins fans this week.

One of the things that can plague a franchise are problem children, thugs, hoodlums, and criminals.  In this case with Chad Johnson, the Miami Dolphins as a franchise are prepared to release him and rid themselves of the "distraction" that the media paints as the true problem with having a player with this type of personality.  However, Chad is not this type of distraction in the sense many fans are accustomed to seeing.  He's a first time offender in the NFL.

As a coach, Joe Philbin has some serious issues to sort out other than who the quarterback is of the team.  Facing Philbin, is the real possibility that what he does going forward is setting a precendent for every player on this team.  If Philbin decides to let the situation go with a non-threatening sit down, then Philbin risks loss of the locker room.  However, if Philbin takes the approach of wait and see and then makes a decision after a week has passed, Philbin will be doing the critical and right thing by not treating this as a knee jerk reaction.

At this point, Chad Johnson probably has more to lose than Miami does.  At stake is his contract for 925,000 if he makes the team, his name and reputation, and a chance to play NFL football. 

The Miami Dolphins have to do what is right and just in this situation.  They need to do their homework and they need to have a chat with Chad Johnson.  Surely, the Dolphins as a business have every right to cut him in the next few days.  Not to mention, the product that is being represented by Chad Johnson lacks productivity on the field.  In addition, Chad Johnson as a marketing icon has passed it's prime. 

On the other hand, taking an opportunity to rehabilitate Chad in the sense that extending out a hand to a guy that is hurting emotionally, might be a very difficult thing to do, but perhaps being human is important.

In no way should Chad's actions be a sign of being an isolated incident.  Chad is a person and is fallible.  He needs help.  Likewise, he doesn't come away from this positively one way or the other.  If he's cut then he has 29 teams to ask for a chance.  If he stays, he has to live with the stigma that comes with allegedly physically bringing harm to a loved one and be magnified on every newspaper and tabloid.

One of the things that the Dolphins must do is first evaluate what is important:  winning games or being a model franchise by taking a difficult stand.