Miami Dolphins

Here’s the latest on the injuries to Dolphins’ Ryan Tannehill and Xavien Howard

UPDATED (2:26 p.m.): Ryan Tannehill will play Sunday against the Vikings “unless something crazy happens,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said Wednesday.

Tannehill practiced three days after spraining his ankle, an injury that briefly knocked him out of the game.

He looked “good [and] moved around well” in practice, Gase added.

Meanwhile, Xavien Howard is able to run, although he did not practice Wednesday.

“We’ll see how the week goes. ... The lateral movement is the key.”

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What you need to know:

Ryan Tannehill practiced.

Xavien Howard did not.

The Dolphins’ two most important players are in much different places with injuries that could threaten their availability for Sunday’s game.

Tannehill practiced on his injured right ankle Wednesday, an encouraging sign that he’ll be available for Sunday’s huge game against the Vikings. Tannehill hurt the ankle when Ja’Wuan James stepped on his right foot late in the first half of the Patriots game.

Tannehill seemed to be moving around well, even with his entire right cleat covered in tape.

Howard, meanwhile, is again going to be a question mark this week with a knee injury that kept him out of last Sunday’s win. NFL Network reported that he had his meniscus scoped last week.

Dr. David Chao, the former Chargers team physician, has not examined Howard, but said that a player who undergoes that procedure would be unlikely to play this week, but could return for the Jaguars game with his most likely return date be for the finale against the Bills.

The only other Dolphins player held out Wednesday: Danny Amendola, who appeared to be getting his normal veteran rest day.

Meanwhile, Jake Brendel’s hard-luck season is officially over. The Dolphins placed the veteran interior lineman on injured reserve with a recurring calf injury. The Dolphins filled his roster spot with lineman Hroniss Grasu, a former third-round draft pick who has appeared in 17 career games with the Bears and Ravens.

Brendel appeared in just four games — logging 176 snaps — in 2018.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 1:30 PM.

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Adam H. Beasley
Miami Herald
Adam Beasley has covered the Dolphins for the Miami Herald since 2012, and has worked for the newspaper since 2006. He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communications and has written about sports professionally since 1996. Support my work with a digital subscription
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