Ifo Ekpre-Olomu to Dolphins: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

The Miami Dolphins claimed cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu off waivers on Tuesday after he was released by the Cleveland Browns, per Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post.

Field Yates of ESPN noted the New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers all tried to claim the cornerback.

The Browns took Ekpre-Olomu, 22, in the seventh round of the 2015 NFL draft, but he didn't appear in a single game while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in December 2015.  

There are currently mixed views about the status of Ekpre-Olomu's knee, however, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

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Ekpre-Olomu feels fine, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT. He’s currently able to dunk a basketball again, and he’s routinely working out with NFL-caliber players, covering receivers and otherwise performing at a high level. The Browns, however, became concerned about his ability to play 16 regular-season games based on the contents of a recent MRI of his knee.

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Ekpre-Olomu was one of the most highly regarded cornerbacks in college football during his career. He was a three-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection, a consensus first-team All-American in 2014 and a Jim Thorpe Award (top defensive back) finalist that same year. 

Had he not injured his knee, he likely would have been a first- or second-round selection in the 2015 NFL draft. His size—he measured in at at 5'9" and 192 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine—may have dropped him out of the first round.

In other words, Miami is getting a player who has clear talent but obvious concerns surrounding his knee, to the point that he dropped all the way to the seventh round and the Browns were willing to release him off of the non-football injury list.

If he is able to move past those knee concerns and return to the field, however, the Dolphins—a team with definite needs at cornerback, despite the offseason addition of Byron Maxwell—may have made one of the savvier moves of their offseason.

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