Updates on Wilson, Stills and the most half-hearted DeVante Parker endorsement yet

Here’s how things stand for the Dolphins offense heading into their only prime-time game of the year:

Their best offensive player (Albert Wilson) spent Monday flying to see a specialist whom the team expected would determine that he cannot play again this year.

Their best deep threat (Kenny Stills) had already been ruled out with a pulled groin, and might not be ready for when the Dolphins return home on Nov. 4.

And their starting quarterback (Brock Osweiler) needed the football equivalent of a name tag to identify the guy Dolphins coaches hope can replace them (DeVante Parker) — so long as his agent stops trash-talking the franchise.

A day after Parker’s agent, James Gould, suggested that Adam Gase was lying and incompetent in a thermonuclear statement, Gase took the high road.

He insisted that he had no thoughts on Gould’s remarkable screed, and insisted that he believed Parker can still play well for the Dolphins.

But when asked if the comments by Gould’s agent would affect Parker’s spot on the team, Gase’s response was telling.

“We don’t have any more receivers so I’m sure he’s going to play,” Gase said.

Late Monday night, Parker distanced himself from Gould’s comments, saying that he does not agree with what was said.

“I can’t control what people say,” Parker said. “He’s a grown man. He says what he says. I can’t control what he says. I don’t feel that way about coach though.”

So despite entering the season with what on paper seemed to be the most depth at receiver in a generation, the Dolphins are left with Parker, Danny Amendola and Jakeem Grant. They will probably elevate at least one of their three practice-squad wideouts — Leonte Carroo, Isiah Ford and Malcolm Lewis — but that feels like a depth move more than anything.

If Parker, Amendola and Grant can’t get it done, it will be a long final nine weeks of the season.

Adding to the drama: The shortest week in pro sports, a road Thursday game. The Dolphins held a glorified walk-through Monday night and will travel to Houston on Tuesday.

Some time over the next couple of days, Osweiler and Parker will need to get properly acquainted.

They barely know each other, at least in a football sense. Parker worked with the starters when he was healthy. Osweiler ran with the backups.

How many passes has the latter thrown to the former?

“We haven’t gotten a lot of reps together, to be honest with you,” Osweiler said. “Ryan has primarily taken all of those reps, going back to the spring and summer. But I was able to get a couple with DeVante last week in practice and hopefully I can get a few more this week before we hit the field Thursday.”

On Monday, Gase provided more context on why Parker was inactive Sunday, which incensed Gould enough to go public with his anger. Gase said that regretted not having Kalen Ballage, the team’s biggest back, active the week before when Kenyan Drake fumbled at the goal line. And since teams can only have 46 players active on game day, a fifth receiver who didn’t play special teams was a luxury Gase thought he could not afford Sunday.

But when Wilson and then Stills got hurt, things went sideways.

Gase seemed particularly upset about Wilson’s injury, which came on an ankle tackle by Teez Tabor that was a step away from being a touchdown.

NFL Network reported earlier Monday that Wilson had a labrum injury, and the team was not expecting good news from the specialist.

“I don’t think we’ll find out until tomorrow afternoon.” Gase said. “... It doesn’t look good right now.”

He added that Wilson going on injured reserve is “a very high” possibility.

Still the team expects Wilson back healthy in 2019.

“I think any time that any of our guys get hurt, it stings,” Gase said. “Especially when guys have a grasp of what we’re doing and they fit in to what we want and they’re executing it the right way. Those guys were really enjoying … That group was really playing well together.

“Those four guys, they were all playing off each other. It was just unselfish football going on. Nobody cared who was getting the ball, it was all about how we are getting in the end zone. To lose both those guys in the same game was hard. That one is hard because you’re trying to figure out what’s next, how do we replace that, where do we go, how are we going to move things around?”

This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 4:16 PM.