Dolphins make three roster moves. And McDaniel answers questions on toughness, injuries
The Dolphins lost a cornerback on Wednesday and face uncertainty about who will play right tackle on Sunday against the Jets.
Cornerback Cam Smith’s difficult second season potentially ended Wednesday when Miami placed him on injured reserve to make room for veteran offensive tackle Jackson Carman.
Carman’s promotion from the practice squad was necessary because right tackle Kendall Lamm is dealing with what Mike McDaniel says is a painful elbow injury. Lamm’s status for Sunday’s game against the visiting Jets is in question; he was not in attendance during the portion of practice open to reporters on Wednesday.
The Dolphins already had elevated Carman a maximum three times this season. He has started six NFL games (all for Cincinnati in 2021) and appeared in 25 NFL games overall.
If Lamm cannot play on Sunday, then Carman or rookie Patrick Paul could start at right tackle. Starting right tackle Austin Jackson is out for the season with a knee injury.
As for Smith, he dislocated a shoulder during Thursday’s game against the Packers. He would be eligible to return for the season finale at the Jets.
Smith has a bloated 122.4 passer rating in his coverage area this season, with 16 completions in 19 targets for 174 yards and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus.
The Dolphins signed cornerback Jason Maitre to their practice squad; he impressed during Dolphins training camp as an undrafted rookie free agent from Wisconsin.
PERSONNEL CHANGES?
Considering the Dolphins averaged 2.96 yards per carry over the past month, should McDaniel consider personnel changes?
Specifically, should Miami give more carries to Raheem Mostert (who has 10 rushing attempts in the past four games) and Jeff Wilson Jr. (who has eight carries for 40 yards all season)?
Or should the Dolphins replace one of their starting guards, Rob Jones or Liam Eichenberg, who are rated by Pro Football Focus as below-average run blockers this season and the worst run-blockers among Miami’s five offensive line starters?
Asked those three questions on Wednesday, McDaniel said he doesn’t want to reveal personnel decisions to the Jets but didn’t rule out lineup changes.
McDaniel spoke of “finding solutions, not necessarily overreacting to the result but taking the result very seriously as it should be and benefit your team with some solutions.”
The Dolphins have benched or reduced the playing time of several former starters this season, including tight end Durham Smythe, linebacker David Long Jr. and Mostert after two costly fumbles.
Meanwhile, edge players Bradley Chubb and Cameron Goode began practicing Wednesday for the first time since serious knee injuries late last season. Asked if they’re ruled out for Sunday’s game against the visiting Jets (1 p.m., CBS), he said: “You don’t rule it out” but acknowledged it’s “rare” to play the first week after being sidelined a long time by injury.
McDaniel said he would evaluate practice tape and see how the players feel before determining their Sunday availability. “I wouldn’t take an opportunity away from somebody who’s ready for it.”
Linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., who missed the Green Bay game with a hamstring injury, will not practice on Wednesday but likely will practice on Thursday, McDaniel said. The coach praised Tyrel Dodson’s performance filling in for Walker.
McDaniel addressed other issues on Wednesday:
▪ Asked if toughness must come from the players or can it be instilled from the “top down,” McDaniel said: “I expect any and all things to be on the table, first and foremost when we don’t fulfill our own expectations... If I have an example of weak-mindedness or a guy turning something down or loafing because of a result, those are things I can coach. Holding people accountable is how, as a coach, you can impact toughness.
“Overall, it’s a violent, competitive sport. When things don’t go your way, a lot of things get thrown out there. If you disagree with that sentiment, to me there is only one emotional reaction, and that is proving it wrong. To sit here and debate ‘tough, not tough,’ all I know is guys are aggressively taking on each other, taking on hits [and that’s] on tape. If you worry about the toughness of your team, you study how... people are playing when things are tough, when things are down.
“I’m very aware that the narrative exists... There’s one way to change it, which is winning a game against the New York Jets. And people still may not call you tough. Cool. I take very serious as a head coach to be responsible to things than can help.”
McDaniel said he didn’t see anything on the tape to suggest anyone was loafing.
“I saw strain; I saw technique and fundamentals that fell short as the game progressed,” he said. “It wasn’t turning down [contact]. Every missed tackle, you have a defender whose feet are stopped at the point of attack.
“It would have ugly if guys were loafing or turning down [contact].” But McDaniel said that wasn’t the case.
He said several teammates would suggest a player be benched if he wasn’t giving effort and implied that hasn’t happened.
▪ On facing Aaron Rodgers as a Jet for the first time: “You’re pumped to go against greatness.”
▪ On players listening to comments on social media: “People who don’t know your situation will have a lot of comments about what you’re doing or how you’re doing it. You can’t get mad and then accept the cheering and the praise. In this generation, it’s noisy either way. I’m either trying to keep people level headed or not have people worry about the wrong stuff.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:28 PM.
