Does Charles Harris have a future with Miami Dolphins after latest disappointment?
Charles Harris’ future in Miami is murky, at best, but he seems to have an idea that the end is near.
Three days after the Dolphins made their former first-round pick a healthy scratch for the first time in his career, Harris seemed resigned to his fate — or at least resigned to the understanding that his fate is beyond his control at this point.
When asked if he was concerned that he was not in the Dolphins’ 2020 plans, Harris responded:
“I take them one at a time. That’s not my decision. That’s their decision. I’m a player. I ain’t no GM. I ain’t no VP. I just do my job.”
Harris added that he “definitely” believes that he could change minds in the front office with a strong finish to the season, but that might be wishful thinking. It’s hard to see what more information that Dolphins can gather in the next two games that they didn’t in his first 40.
Harris has been a massive disappointment since the Dolphins took him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft. He has just 3 1/2 sacks in three seasons, and on Sunday, was benched in favor of a bunch of glorified practice squad players.
“I think just in terms of the game plan, that’s how we determine who’s going to play,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “Charles will just continue to keep working hard.”
Perhaps the only reason the Dolphins have to keep Harris: His contract. His base $1.9 million salary is nearly fully guaranteed next year, making him painful to cut and almost impossible to trade.
It’s possible the Dolphins bring him back for another offseason for a training camp look. And it’s possible they just cut bait.
Either way, Harris will likely go down as the second-biggest Dolphins draft bust of this decade. He’s behind only Dion Jordan, who had just three sacks in two seasons before bombing out of the organization.
Parker’s stand
DeVante Parker wasn’t just left off the Pro Bowl roster. He didn’t even get named a top reserve. But that’s OK, the Dolphins’ fifth-year receiver insisted Wednesday.
“If I was in it, I probably wouldn’t even go,” Parker said. “I don’t care about that. ... I don’t care that. It’s all about politics. It’s all about who you are. I don’t care about Pro Bowl.”
Granted, that’s easy to say when you have no chance of going. But that’s been Parker’s opinion on the matter for weeks. And in truth, his stats are probably just outside of where they need to be to make the team. Yes, his eight touchdowns rank in the top 10, but he’s still shy of 60 catches and 1,000 yards.
Parker should hit both benchmarks Sunday against the Bengals. And he has a real chance to finish pretty high on the franchise’s single-season record list. Only 10 Dolphins have ever had 1,100 yards in a season. Parker needs 146 to become the 11th.
Parker never says much, but he was a bit more talkative Wednesday about his new four-year, $40 million contract extension that he was after the game Sunday.
“It’s a good feeling that they still want me here, and I still want to be here too,” Parker said. “We just connected on that.”
▪ All 53 Miami Dolphins practiced today. Six were limited in their participation: Parker (hip), Chandler Cox (shoulder), Allen Hurns (ankle/knee), Nik Needham (groin), Zach Sieler (ankle) and Albert Wilson (hip).
