Dolphins continue to poach Patriots; sign Ted Karras and Elandon Roberts

Center Ted Karras and linebacker/part-time fullback Elandon Roberts join a growing list of former New England Patriots players now on the Miami Dolphins.

Blink, and you’ll miss another New England Patriots player leaving Foxborough for South Beach to join the resurgent Miami Dolphins.

Just two days after linebacker Kyle Van Noy reunited with former de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores — now in his second season as the head coach of the Fins — down in Florida, two more Patriots have become ex-Patriots.

Center Ted Karras — who filled in for the injured David Andrews throughout almost all of 2019 — signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins for $4 million, per ESPN. Later on Wednesday, linebacker Elandon Roberts followed suit, inking a one-year deal of his own for an unknown amount of money.

As excellent as Karras was filling in on the Patriots’ starting O-line, Roberts was just as good filling in at fullback (of all places). He’s already a talented run-stopper and defensive weapon, despite the high number of penalties he can be held responsible for at times. But when the Patriots needed someone to fill in for James Develin, they turned to Roberts — and Roberts delivered.

Flores now has three of Bill Belichick’s biggest stars — and most heralded contributors — from the 2019 New England campaign on his 2020 Miami roster.

Slowly but surely, the Dolphins have become a mini-me for the Patriots under Flores. Chad O’Shea, Jerry Schuplinski, Patrick Graham, Dave DeGuglielmo, Tiquan Underwood, Josh Boyer … these are all coaches who currently work or who once worked for Flores and the Dolphins, and each of them used to have New England roots or ties once upon a time as well.

The ex-Patriot theme is even more prevalent when you look at Miami’s roster of players.

Here’s a list of all the former Patriots who now call themselves Dolphins:

• Ted Karras
• Elandon Roberts
• Kyle Van Noy
• Aqib Talib
• Eric Rowe
• Ken Webster
• Calvin Munson
• Kamu Grugier-Hill
• Nate Brooks
• Ryan Lewis
• Jomal Wiltz
• Trent Harris

It’s been a particularly rough free agency period for New England. Despite early victories scored in re-signing Matthew Slater, Devin McCourty, and potentially Joe Thuney, the team has been left reeling after the defections of Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Danny Shelton, and most importantly: Tom Brady.