Jaylen Wright expected to make second Dolphins start in season finale
Miami Dolphins tailback Jaylen Wright will make his second NFL start in Sunday’s season finale against the New England Patriots.
Wright, the Dolphins’ 2024 fourth-round pick, gets the elevation because De’Von Achane was inactive for the season finale because of a shoulder injury he suffered in last week’s 20-17 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wright, who got off to a slow start in 2025 because of a knee injury he suffered in training camp, has been coming on strong in the second half of the season, gaining 200 yards and scoring one touchdown on 39 carries in the last four games.
Wright previous started the third game of the 2024 season and gained 17 yards on two carries in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Rookie tailback Ollie Gordon II is expected to share the tailback workload with Wright, and Miami activated veteran tailback Jeff Wilson for the game, promoting him up from the practice squad.
By not playing Achane, who was named to the 2025 AFC Pro Bowl after rushing for 1,350 yards on 238 carries, and catching a team-leading 67 passes for 488 yards, will not pass Karim Abdul Jabbar (1996-99) for seventh place all-time in franchise history for rushing yards. Achane, who has gained 3,57 rushing yards on his 544 carries the past three seasons, is 6-yards behind Abdul Jabbar.
He’s 486 yards behind Tony Nathan (1979-87) for sixth place all-time in rushing yards in franchise history (3,543), and will likely need to wait until next season to move up the charts.
Also expected to play a prominent role Sunday against the Patriots is receiver rookie Theo Wease Jr., who will have his role elevated because Jaylen Waddle won’t play in Sunday’s game due to the rib injury he suffered last week against the Buccaneers, and tight end Greg Dulcich, who will likely replace Darren Waller, who was placed on injured reserve because of a groin injury earlier this week.
Waddle, who is 90 yards shy of becoming 1,000 yard receiver for the fourth time in his five seasons, practiced on a limited basis this week, but the Dolphins seemingly didn’t like the way he looked, or didn’t want to take the risk of playing him in a meaningless game.
Wease, who caught a 63-yard touchdown past week, and Dulcich, who has caught 23 passes for 304 yards and one touchdown this season, have chemistry with new Dolphins starter Quinn Ewers because of the time they spent together on Miami’s scout team, getting the first-team defense ready for each week’s opponent.
Center Aaron Brewer, who ended his 65 game playing streak last week because of a neck injury, returned to the starting lineup. But he was one of two prominent, injured starters who did play.
Starting right tackle Austin Jackson missed the season-finale because of a back injury that flared up this week.
Pass rusher Chop Robinson, who suffered a concussion last week, is in the concussion protocol and wasn’t cleared to play on Sunday.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has been sidelined the past two weeks by a calf injury, missed his third straight game.
Inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who is pushing to become the NFL’s leading tackler for the 2025 season, played against the Patriots despite a hamstring injury he suffered in last week’s win over the Buccaneers.
