Dolphins waive DT Daviyon Nixon to make room for S Marcus Maye

The Miami Dolphins officially added veteran safety Marcus Maye to their roster on Thursday and waived defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon to make room.

Nixon, 25, was one of several defensive linemen added by the Dolphins earlier this year as the team looked to fill the void left by the departures of Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis. In addition to Nixon, Miami also signed Neville Gallimore, Jonathan Harris, Benito Jones, Isaiah Mack and Teair Tart. After the 2024 NFL Draft, the Dolphins signed defensive tackles Leonard Payne and Mario Kendricks as undrafted free agents.

While it remains to be seen whether the quantitative rather than qualitative approach will work for the Dolphins, who haven’t given any of these acquisitions more than $1.8 million per year, the room proved too crowded to Nixon.

Nixon was a fifth-round pick for the Carolina Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft and spent the majority of his first two seasons with the team. When he was waived in December 2022, he had a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks before spending the entire 2023 season as a free agent.

In 14 career NFL games, Nixon has recorded 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and 15 tackles.