Miami Dolphins might cut Koa Misi, save millions

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum and the Miami Dolphins will have some tough roster decisions this offseason.

One of those dilemmas could be if the team should hang onto strongside linebacker Koa Misi. Misi is due $4.2 million next season in the final year of his five-year contract. He played in just three games in 2016, due to a neck injury. The Dolphins sent Misi to injured reserve in October. He also spent time on I.R. in 2015, due to a back injury, and in 2011.

"The former second-round pick has been too injury-prone over the years for Miami to continue to count on him as a starter," ESPN's James Walker wrote.

Misi, 30, had 4.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries during his rookie campaign. He had a career-high 59 tackles in 2015. Misi has never started more than 14 games in a season. TMZ reported in May that Misi had to be "detained" after he knocked down a person at a Fort Lauderdale nightclub with a "massive strike to the head." The report also said Misi tried to flee the scene.

Misi was later released and no charges were filed. The 2016 incident was not his first brush up with police. Misi earned three years of probation after being accused of "punching a man in the face, fracturing his orbital socket," according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His felony battery charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor in 2013.

Last year, the Miami Herald also noted that Misi wasn't "necessarily good" in 2015.

"Misi's salary and health question marks hang a target on him as a possible cap casualty," the Herald's Armando Salguero wrote last January.

The Dolphins drafted the linebacker in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.