The Miami Dolphins went the international route for a third time with one of their 13 picks in the 2026 NFL draft when they selected France native Seydou Traore.
More importantly for the Dolphins , Traore was a tight end from Mississippi State with an intriguing enough skill set to use one of their three fifth-round picks on him.
The France part -Traore first played football as part of the NFL Academy in London, England -has some significance in that Traore is part of the International Player Pathway Program, and the Dolphins officially got a roster exemption for him this week.
BREAKING DOWN THE IPP RULES
The IPP program began in 2017 and is designed for players born outside the U.S. and Canada and who have played no more than two years of high school football in the U.S. as a means to promote the game and maybe also find hidden gems.
To give those less experienced players the chance to develop, the NFL established rules whereby teams wouldn't have to use up a roster spot to keep them around.
The exemption the Dolphins got this week gives them the right to carry up to 91 players throughout the offseason program up until teams have to get down to the 53-player roster limit for the start of the regular season.
If Traore makes the 53-man roster -and one would think his chances are pretty good as a fifth-round pick -then the roster exemption disappears and Traore is treated just like any other player.
If the Dolphins waive Traore, then he'll be subject to the same rules as other players and could be claimed by any other team.
Under that scenario, if Traore went unclaimed, then the Dolphins could bring him back to the practice squad and he wouldn't count against the 16-player limit for that group.
However, any team could poach Traore - just like any other player - and sign him to their 53-man roster (for a minimum of three games) during the regular season.
Traore follows Dominican tackle Bayron Matos and Brazilian lineman Durval Queiroz Neto as Dolphins IPP players.
Queiroz was with the Dolphins for three seasons, switching from the defensive line to guard after his first year in 2019, but he never made it to the active roster or played in a regular season game.
Matos signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and spent that season on the practice squad, but was waived/injured last summer after a scary training camp injury. He signed with the Colts practice squad last October and was signed to a future contract by Indy this January.
Queiroz didn't play college football before joining the Dolphins, while Matos had limited experience at the University of South Florida after starting off as a basketball player.
Traore was a grizzled veteran by comparison, having spent two seasons at Arkansas State and two more at Mississippi State after playing spring ball at Colorado in 2023 and redshirting after transferring.
It's why Traore shouldn't be viewed as a typical IPP player, even though he carries the roster advantage that comes with it.
"He's more polished than, I guess in terms of a lot of the IPP kids that have never played organized football," Dolphins director of college scouting Matt Winston said after Traore was drafted. "He's played in the SEC, he played at Arkansas State. He's got some pelts on the wall in terms of in-game experience."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/onsi as Explaining the IPP Ins and Outs with Seydou Traore ... Plus the Dolphins Precedents .
