A look at Miami Dolphins’ new plan at running back and receiver, post-trade deadline
Brian Flores threw cold water on the notion that the Dolphins traded Isaiah Ford to make room for Antonio Callaway, who practiced Wednesday for the first time this season.
“I have yet to see him even in a helmet, so I don’t know if it impacted anything thus far,” Flores said. “I haven’t seen him put cleats on. .... Callaway, we’ve got the film two years ago but a lot of things change in two years. That wasn’t much of a factor [in the trade], I would say.”
Instead, Flores suggested that receivers currently on Miami’s roster — Jakeem Grant, Malcolm Perry, Lynn Bowden and Mack Hollins — will be relied on more, at least in the short term.
Grant, Perry and Bowden are the quick, shifty type of players that Tua Tagovailoa had success throwing to at Alabama, so it makes sense that their usage would increase with Tagovailoa as the starter.
The Dolphins made two moves before Tuesday’s trade deadline: sending Ford to New England for a conditional sixth-round 2022 draft pick and acquiring running back DeAndre Washington and a 2021 conditional seventh-round pick for a conditional sixth-round pick. Flores addressed both transactions Wednesday.
“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Isaiah Ford,” Flores said. “A [player] who worked extremely hard, made a lot of plays for us. As far as his work ethic and team oriented, put the team first, great attitude. Really enjoyed working with him. We felt like the best thing was for us to make that particular trade.”
Why acquire Washington?
“Myles [Gaskin] is dinged up a little but. We’ll see. He’s a tough kid. Competitive kid. We’ll see where this goes. We felt like we wanted to add some depth the the running back position. DeAndre is a good player. We wanted to take advantage of it.”
Added Kliff Kingsbury, who coached Washington at Texas Tech: “A very talented back, running it or catching it. ... I think they’re getting a physical runner who can do it with his feet and with his hands.”
Washington will not be able to play this week due to the NFL’s COVID-19 testing policy, so expect to see more of Matt Breida and the likely return of Jordan Howard, who has been a healthy scratch for the last month. But Breida could be iffy for this weekend too. He missed practice Wednesday with a minor hamstring injury.
▪ Dolphins left tackle Austin Jackson returned to practice Wednesday for first time since suffering a foot injury a month ago and went through position drills. He remains on injured reserve.
▪ The NFL on Wednesday named Grant the AFC’s special teams player of the week after his team-record 88-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Rams.
“Jakeem has worked extremely hard, in all areas of his game,” Flores said. “Receiver, returner, you can kind of see some of that manifest itself on the field. We all know he’s an explosive player. I’m proud of the way he’s worked. ... He’s done a nice job. I’m happy he won that award, but at the same time I know his focus is on Arizona.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
