Williams held out of Dolphins loss to Bills for disciplinary reasons. Parker returns
Dolphins wide receiver Preston Williams did not play in the team’s 26-11 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday because of disciplinary reasons, coach Brian Flores confirmed after the game.
The team on Saturday announced that Williams, along with new safety Sheldrick Redwine, had been ruled out for the game and did not make the trip for the game. Neither player was listed on the final injury report Friday.
The CBS broadcast first revealed during the game that Williams’ absence was related to discipline.
Asked for further comment on the situation, Flores said: “For disciplinary reasons he wasn’t on the trip. Obviously, we will revisit that in the morning and talk through it. I expect him to be with us.”
Williams, in his third season after being signed as an undrafted free agent, is in the final year of a three-year, $1.675 million deal. He spent the week leading up to the Bills game practicing on the scout team, a sign that the team may not have planned for him to be active on Sunday.
Williams is one of many Dolphins wide receivers who have missed at least one game this season because of injury. He has appeared in three games this season, catching five passes for 67 yards.
Parker returns, Baker sidelined for the first time in career
Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker was active for Sunday’s game after missing the last three matchups because of a lingering shoulder and hamstring injury.
Parker recorded a team-high eight receptions for 85 yards, including a 23-yard reception on the offense’s first possession.
“I think we could’ve did a lot more with that, with incorporating DeVante and then [tight end] Mike [Gesicki], some of our other guys,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “But this is a good defense. They know where their problems are. They know who our playmakers are as well and they play really sound, really physical up front and there’s not need for much communication in the back end for them so it’s a veteran group and they make it tough for teams to play against them.”
Center Greg Mancz and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene were also active after being listed as questionable because of their respective injuries. Both players missed last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Austin Reiter, who filled in for Mancz last week, started his second straight game at center.
While the Dolphins saw the return of Parker and Mancz, two starters, another was sidelined.
Inside linebacker Jerome Baker (knee) was inactive and sidelined by injury for the first time in his NFL career. Baker had previously appeared in all 55 games prior to Sunday. Duke Riley, signed as a free agent in the offseason, got the start while Sam Eguavoen and Elandon Roberts also saw increased roles.
The Dolphins also deactivated cornerback Trill Williams, offensive tackle Greg Little, rookie tight end Hunter Long and defensive lineman John Jenkins for Sunday’s game.
This story was originally published October 31, 2021 at 11:42 AM.
