Dolphins’ top three running backs, standout rookie placed on COVID list
As the Dolphins returned from their bye week Monday and started preparations for Sunday’s home game against the New York Jets, they were hit with COVID-19 issues that place the availability of multiple key players in doubt.
Running back Phillip Lindsay and rookie safety Jevon Holland were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, days after running backs Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed landed on the list for positive coronavirus tests. According to multiple reports, Lindsay and Holland also tested positive.
While coach Brian Flores, who spoke hours before Lindsay and Holland landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, did not pinpoint the exact day Gaskin and Ahmed returned their positive tests — the team held a walk-through last Wednesday and gave players the rest of the week off — he said he did not believe there was any reason to believe that Gaskin and Ahmed’s positive tests weren’t isolated cases.
“But again, I also don’t have a crystal ball here,” Flores added. “With everyone coming off of the bye week and kind of getting away, just part of our discussion [is] being safe and understanding that there’s still a pandemic out there. We’ll follow protocols and practice with the guys that are here.”
The development leaves the team without its top three running backs and one of the defense’s top performers. Patrick Laird was placed on injured reserve last week and will miss at least three games after sustaining a knee injury against the New York Giants. Malcolm Brown has missed the past seven games on IR with a quad injury but Flores said he was “hopeful” Brown would be able to return to practice this week. The Dolphins held a walk-through Monday.
Flores had also said he was hopeful Lindsay, who missed the Week 13 win against the Giants with an ankle injury but returned for the team’s walk-through last Wednesday, would be at practice this week.
According to NFL Network, Gaskin, Ahmed and Lindsay are vaccinated. The NFL mandates unvaccinated players wear masks whenever inside the practice facility and Holland hasn’t worn one when speaking to reporters, which indicates that he has received the shot. Players who test positive and are vaccinated must be asymptomatic and return two negative tests at least 24 hours apart before being activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Players who are not vaccinated and test positive must self-isolate for 10 days.
Holland has started the last nine games, and his versatility has been an incremental part of the defense’s turnaround during the Dolphins’ five-game winning streak. If he cannot return in time for Sunday’s game, Eric Rowe could start in his place. Rowe has started the last two games for the injured Brandon Jones. The team could also play Will Parks, Clayton Fejedelem or elevate Sheldrick Redwine from the practice squad as a COVID-19 replacement.
Gaskin leads the Dolphins with 526 rushing yards and three touchdowns and is also third on the team with 45 receptions. Ahmed ranks second with 149 rushing yards, while Lindsay, a 2018 Pro Bowler, ran 12 times for 42 yards in his team debut against the Carolina Panthers in Week 12. The team’s running game has struggled this season; the Dolphins rank 23rd in rush attempts per game (23.9), 31st in yards per game (79.2) and 31st in yards per attempt (3.3).
The Dolphins on Monday elevated veteran Duke Johnson from the practice squad to the active roster as a COVID-19 replacement. Johnson was elevated for the Dolphins’ win over the Jets on Nov. 21 and rushed four times for 18 yards. The team also signed former Green Bay Packers running back Dexter Williams to the practice squad. Williams, a sixth-round pick in the 2019 Draft, has seven career carries for 19 yards. He hasn’t played in a game this season.
The Dolphins could also elevate Gerrid Doaks from the practice squad if they need to add depth at the position ahead of Sunday’s game. Doaks, a seventh-round pick in the 2021 Draft, has been routinely protected on the practice squad but has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Flores confirmed a WSVN report on Sunday that the team worked out former Dolphins running back Lamar Miller amid the positive tests to the top backs. Miller, a fourth-round pick for the Dolphins in the 2012 Draft, played his first four seasons in Miami, rushing for 2,930 yards and 19 touchdowns. Miller, a Killian and University of Miami graduate, also caught 117 passes for 887 yards and three touchdowns. A 2018 Pro Bowler, Miller was on the New Orleans Saints practice squad earlier this season and last appeared in a game for the Chicago Bears last season. WSVN later reported Monday that Miller’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said the Dolphins will not be signing Miller at this time.
“[The workout] was certainly connected to the guys being on the COVID list,” said Flores, who added that the team was “getting a workout [to] see where he and some other players were physically and if we have to make a move, we’re ready to do that.”
The Dolphins’ coronavirus issues come as the team is fighting for a playoff spot after a 1-7 start. At 6-7 and one game behind the seventh and final AFC wild-card spot, the team has a 10 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to FiveThirtyEight. The website’s projections give the Dolphins a 77 percent chance of making the playoffs if they can win their remaining four games but that figure drops to below 10 percent if they lose just one of those games.
The series of positive tests mark the first time any players have tested positive for COVID-19 since Week 1 when offensive lineman Austin Jackson and tight end Adam Shaheen missed the season opener against the New England Patriots. Both returned to practice the following week.
It also shows the continued struggles of the NFL, despite high percentages of vaccination from team to team, to keep the virus out of its league as new variants spread across the country. As of Nov. 17, 94.3 percent of players and nearly 100 percent of NFL personnel were vaccinated but, according to ESPN, the NFL had 37 positive tests on Monday. It was the most player positives in one day since the reserve/COVID-19 list was created.
“That’s something that everyone is dealing with, each and every team,” cornerback Byron Jones said. “Next guy up, that’s always the mentality. I think it could give young guys the opportunity to step up and show what they got. So, hopefully we get those guys back as soon as possible but we’re looking forward.”
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
