Parker says he felt good enough to play Sunday. And he was not pleased he didn’t

As reporters huddled around Albert Wilson in a joyous Dolphins locker room Sunday, DeVante Parker quietly dressed in the next locker over, his happiness somewhat tempered.

Wilson was one of Miami’s heroes in the 20-12 victory over the Jets.

Parker was inactive for the second straight week.

In the opener, he understood the coaches’ thinking. His broken finger still gave him trouble catching the ball.

But on Sunday, Parker believed he was good enough to go.

“Yeah, I felt pretty good,” Parker said.

And yet, Dolphins coach Adam Gase informed him sometime between Thursday and 90 minutes before kickoff that he would not play.

Why? That’s not immediately clear. Parker did not share much about the conversation — just that he was unhappy with the outcome.

When asked if he was OK not playing Sunday, Parker responded:

“Of course not.”

Parker wore a protective mitt and then had his fingers padded during practice over the past week. He worked without limitation on both Thursday and Friday. He told reporters Thursday that he expected to play against the Jets.

Gase decided otherwise.

Sunday marked the eighth game Parker has missed in his career due to a series of injuries: foot, hamstring, ankle and now finger.

The Dolphins offense has been good, but not great, without him. The Dolphins had three players with three or more catches Sunday: Wilson, Danny Amendola and Kenyan Drake.

But Miami has converted just 8 of 23 third downs, an area where Parker’s size and range could certainly help.

This story was originally published September 16, 2018 at 6:24 PM.