Dolphins dish on receiver situation and games gone in locker. Conner cut
The Dolphins have a half dozen options to fill Tyreek Hill’s snaps opposite Jaylen Waddle.
No one, to this point, has mustered a fraction of his production — partly because of factors beyond their control.
Three have had modest playing time (Cedrick Wilson Jr., Dee Eskridge and Tahj Washington). A fourth, practice squad player Theo Wease Jr., hasn’t played at all.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Malik Washington -- the players who have logged the most snaps opposite Waddle since Hill’s season-ending Week 4 knee injury -- have seen their production decline from a year ago.
Westbrook-Ikhine has just 10 catches for 82 yards — a year after producing 32 receptions for 497 yards and nine touchdowns for Tennessee. He has been targeted only 18 times in 287 offensive snaps. Last season, the Titans targeted him 60 times in 771 snaps. And his yards-per-catch average has plunged to 8.2, down from his 13.6 career mark.
Has this been a case of Westbrook-Ikhine failing to get open enough? Or is he simply a victim of circumstance?
“It’s more of circumstances of what’s happened,” receivers coach Robert Prince said Thursday.
“There might have been times where he’s a certain read in the progression or maybe the defense took something away and left something else open. It’s not just you getting open. Sometimes you have to do the dirty work. All of it matters.”
Could Westbrook-Ikhine’s modest production be the result of a lack of chemistry between the receiver and Tagovailoa?
“I don’t think it does, but maybe it does,” Prince said. “Nick is working hard and trying to get to the right spot.”
Meanwhile, Malik Washington’s average yards per reception has dropped from 8.6 as a rookie to 6.5 this season (28 catches for 183 yards).
Prince noted that Washington’s average was dragged down by the Carolina game, when he had four catches for 0 yards.
And “part of it is he gets targeted behind the line of scrimmage,” Prince said.
The Dolphins gave Tahj Washington early playing time against Baltimore, but he fumbled his first NFL reception deep in Dolphins territory and played just a handful of snaps the remainder of the game (and nine in all).
Prince indicated he didn’t castigate Washington on the sidelines because it would have been counterproductive.
“The kid is trying to make a play,” Prince said. “We talked about that [Ravens] defense [being] ball hawks. He cut back into four guys and that held him up. It was a lesson learned. It’s hard to jump on a guy because you don’t want to lose a guy. Time to move on to the next play. Lesson learned for him.”
The Dolphins want to continue to invest in Tahj Washington because, as Prince noted, he “brings the speed element.”
Wilson Jr., poached from the Saints’ practice squad last month, has logged 22 and 14 offensive snaps the past two weeks and has two catches for nine yards.
“Everyone has something they can bring to it,” Prince said. “What’s great about Ced is he’s been in this system before. He’s had to dust off some of the cobwebs. He picked up the system quickly. We like Ced. Smart player. Like Nick, he has good hands, can do some of the dirty work” with blocking.
A case could be made to give more playing time to Eskridge, who has played only 65 offensive snaps and has six receptions for 62 yards.
“Dee brings the speed - he was trying to kill himself in camp with how hard he was working,” Prince said, which led the staff to conclude “there’s no way we can let this guy out of the building.”
The Dolphins haven’t yet elevated practice squad receiver Theo Wease Jr., who had a strong preseason after catching 60 passes for 884 yards and four touchdowns at Missouri last season.
“We love his size, large catch radius, pretty good in and out of his breaks,” Prince said. “We think his development is going to be crucial for us.”
Conner cut
The Dolphins waived tight end Tanner Conner, ending his 3 1/2 year tenure with the team. Conner had 12 receptions for 107 yards in 251 offensive snaps, appearing in 33 games and making one start.
This season, he played 181 offensive snaps and had nine catches for 91 yards. With Darren Waller on injured reserve, Conner’s departure leaves Miami with two tight ends on the 53-man roster: Julian Hill (who is dealing with an ankle injury) and Greg Dulcich.
Hayden Rucci (who has been elevated two of a maximum three permitted games) and Chris Myarick remain on the practice squad. Waller, who has a pectoral injury, is eligible to return from IR after two more games. The Dolphins did not announce a corresponding move to fill the roster spot.
Games gone
Gone from the Dolphins’ locker room on Thursday were sources of enjoyment for the players: a pop-a-shot, another basketball hoop and a card table. Dolphins players routinely enjoyed those perks this season, but they won’t have access to them at least for the immediate future.
Defensive lineman Benito Jones said it was the players — not the coaches — who decided to remove the basketball hoops and card table.
“We want to focus on the little things right now,” he said. “It ain’t a distraction. We just want to focus on the little things right now. Not more in the locker room, but in the meeting room.”
Will it come back at some point? “Of course,” Jones said. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks, one of the team’s captains, declined to comment on the matter.
Games in the locker room have been a source of discussion in several NFL locker rooms through the years.
During the 2022 season, the Dolphins team captains decided to remove ping-pong tables from the locker room after losing two games following a 3-0 start. The ping-pong tables later reappeared after the team started winning again.
This and that
Bradley Chubb seemed pleased he wasn’t traded before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline. “I’m glad to be back here,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to help us get on track.”
Chubb said Dolphins interim general manager Champ Kelly kept him and agent Erik Burkhardt updated as the team fielded trade inquiries.
“Teams were hitting us up, too,” Chubb said. “Me and Champ talked. I’ll keep our conversations [confidential]. He was up front and forward with everything throughout the whole process. So I appreciate him for that.”
▪ Chubb said the Dolphins made him no promises about next season; his $19.4 million salary for next season is not guaranteed.
“We didn’t talk about the future,” he said. “We just talked about finishing this year strong.”
▪ The fact the Dolphins have only one interception “bothers me a lot,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “Whether it’s interceptions, strip sacks, forced fumbles, we know if you find a way to win the takeaway battle, it increases your chances of winning.”
▪ Special teams coach Craig Aukerman said he would be comfortable using Riley Patterson on field goals of 60-plus yards. He hasn’t tried one that long this season; his career long is 53 and his longest this season is 49. He missed a 57-yarder, one of two misses this season. Jason Sanders remains out with a hip injury.
▪ Aukerman said he sees special teams upside with new linebacker Andre Carter II, who has played 66 career special-teams snaps. He got the nod over Quinton Bell and Derrick McLendon for a spot on the 53. It’s possible that Bell could be elevated for a third and final time this week.
“We will try him in different spots,” Aukerman said of Carter.
Carter, who attended college at West Point, said he will serve his country as a field artillery officer, based in Oklahoma, after his NFL career ends.
Injury update
Cornerback Rasul Douglas (foot/ankle), receiver Dee Eskridge (shoulder) and linebacker Chop Robinson (shoulder) missed Thursday’s practice, leaving their status in doubt for Sunday’s home game against Buffalo (1 p.m., CBS 4).
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (thumb/foot) was a limited participant on Thursday after not practicing Wednesday
Linebacker Bradley Chubb (foot), safety Ashtyn Davis (quad), running back Ollie Gordon II (ankle), tight end Julian Hill (ankle) and defensive lineman Zach Sieler(shoulder) also were limited on Thursday.
Here’s my Thursday piece with lots of personnel notes from assistant coaches, including Chop Robinson, Dante Trader Jr. and others.
This story was originally published November 6, 2025 at 4:07 PM.
