Dolphins’ McDaniel addresses status of Armstead, other players heading into Patriots game
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he’s optimistic that left tackle Terron Armstead, who has been dealing with a knee injury, will be available for Sunday’s game against visiting New England barring a setback in the next two days.
Before appearing at Friday’s practice, Armstead hadn’t practiced the previous nine days.
McDaniel said “it’s rare left tackles can play” without practicing once or twice a week, but Armstead “has proven to be the exception.”
He hasn’t been practicing because he “knows his body and how many reps he needs for an opponent to perform... when battling through something,” McDaniel said.
In other injury news, McDaniel said cornerback Kendall Fuller remains in concussion protocol and is out for Sunday game against visiting New England (1 p.m., CBS).
McDaniel said “I’m feeling as optimistic as I’ve felt in the last three weeks” with regard to Alec Ingold’s availability on Sunday. He has missed the past two games with a calf injury.
Though outside linebacker Bradley Chubb has not begun practicing after the Dec. 31 ACL injury, McDaniel said he still feels optimistic that Chubb will play this year.
McDaniel said he expects that long snapper Blake Ferguson will play again this season. Ferguson has missed five games after being away for personal reasons. The Dolphins can elevate practice squad long snapper Tucker Addington one more time this season. Ferguson has been spotted in the locker room the past three weeks but is not available for interviews because he’s on the non-football injured reserve list.
McDaniel said it’s not likely that safety Patrick McMorris or guard Isaiah Wynn will be activated before Sunday’s game. But McDaniel suggested both will be activated at some point after that.
McMorris must be activated from injured reserve next week in order to play this season. The Dolphins have 13 more days to activate Wynn off the physically unable to perform list.
One other note: McDaniel said of tight end Jonnu Smith’s outstanding work this season: “The proof is in the pudding the past two weeks. You’ve seen high percentage shorter throws go really long. You can see his physical skill set. He’s a hard guy to tackle with the ball in his hands. Jonnu has done a phenomenal job...”
McDaniel said tight end Julian Hill also “had some exceptional YAC situations” against Las Vegas and “Malik Washington has done the same.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 11:52 AM.
