Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins will keep Byron Maxwell benched

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Miami Dolphins kept Byron Maxwell on the sidelines Thursday night against the Bengals and it appears that the decision will be in play at least another week.

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Talking with the media on Friday, head coach Adam Gase was asked about Maxwell and Gase was quick to tell media that Tony Lippett is the starter heading into the week five game against Tennessee.

Maxwell wasn’t only benched on Thursday night, he didn’t play a single play. Not on special teams, not on the defensive side of the ball, not at all. Maxwell wasn’t visually upset about the demotion and told reporters that it “doesn’t matter”.

In the video of Maxwell’s comments it was clear he wasn’t too thrilled but directed all questions regarding it towards the coaching staff.

Maxwell has been playing very poorly through the first three weeks. Whether Adam Gase is trying to send a message or realizes that even now it’s more important to get his younger players time on the field and experience.

Perhaps Gase is realizing that the 2016 season is not going to end with a run for the playoffs and that evaluating talent in preparation for the other four years he is under contract for is important. Or maybe he just wants the veterans to know that he doesn’t care how much money they make.

One thing looks to be a certainty and that is Maxwell is not likely to return in 2017 barring a big change the rest of the season. Maxwell has a high cap number in 2017 but it’s not guaranteed and the Dolphins would take a minimal cap hit of $3 million saving over $5.5 million.

The trade for Maxwell is looking like a major mistake by Mike Tannenbaum but at the very least the team still was able to draft Laremy Tunsil who fell from number one overall and the Dolphins are getting valuable play from Kiko Alonso who was also involved in the trade.

It’s just the large salary that Miami bailed Philadelphia out of.