Joe Cardona is staying in the division.
Cut by the Patriots last month, Cardona has signed with the Miami Dolphins, where he’ll be reunited with former New England punter Jake Bailey. Cardona was released by the Patriots shortly after they picked Julian Ashby in the seventh round. Ashby was the first long-snapper to be drafted since 2021.
Cardona spent a decade in New England, snapping in a pair of Super Bowl wins. On Friday, coach Mike Vrabel said the decision came down to just really liking what they have in Ashby.
“Any time that you have to move on from players that have been at a place and that have been a part of successful football teams, it just comes down to our ability to acquire a player that we believe in strongly, and we just felt like that was the best decision to go with Julian,” Vrabel said. “We’re going to have two young kickers that we’re going to be trying out, and after working Julian out, I think it became evident that that was probably what was in the best interest of the team. I have a lot of respect for Joe and what he’s done here. We tried to do that in the most respectful way possible and give him an opportunity to go and catch on.”