The Miami Dolphins expect to get two injured players back, but two starters in doubt
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Friday:
▪ Safety Reshad Jones and defensive end Avery Moss appear likely to return to the field Sunday after missing four games with injuries.
Coach Brian Flores said there’s a “good chance of seeing both guys” Sunday against Buffalo at Hard Rock Stadium.
Jones (cracked rib) and Moss (sprained ankle) practiced fully for a second consecutive day Friday.
But linebacker Raekwon McMillan (knee) and defensive end Taco Charlton (elbow) have been limited in practice all week and will be game-time decisions, Flores said. “Both want to play,” Flores said.
A large number of NFL players who are limited in practice all week end up not playing.
Jones, Moss, McMillan and Charlton are all listed as questionable.
Moss could get some of Charlton’s snaps if Charlton doesn’t play.
Cornerback Ken Webster will miss a third consecutive game with an ankle injury.
Flores said the team is mulling whether to activate offensive tackle Julien Davenport for Sunday’s game; he must be placed on the 53-man roster by next Wednesday or he would miss the remainder of the season.
▪ Among the questions that need clarity over the final seven weeks:
Which of the veteran receivers are worth keeping around?
DeVante Parker appears likely to stick next season, while Albert Wilson appears unlikely to be back. But more complicated decisions loom on Allen Hurns and potentially Jakeem Grant.
Parker is reasonably priced next season at $4.4 million, with a $5 million cap hit. He’s already matched his career high with four touchdowns and he’s 19th in the AFC with 469 receiving yards.
Wilson, meantime, has battled injuries and hasn’t been able to recapture his 2018 magic, and the Dolphins would have $9.5 million in cap and salary savings by releasing him, a move that seems increasingly inevitable.
It was telling that the Dolphins increased the role of Hurns — more than Wilson and Grant — when Preston Williams was lost for the season. Miami likes Hurns’s reliability (he’s averaging 13.1 yards on 13 catches) and could bring him back on a cheap deal, especially with Williams’ status for training camp in question off ACL surgery.
Grant, who has dealt with a hamstring injury, had a disappointing year as a receiver (16 for 132, 8.3 average) and as a returner (his 20.9 kickoff average is a pedestrian 16th) and because his contract extension allows Miami to walk away by next March without paying him any of his $3.8 million base salary in 2020. Cutting him would result in only $2.4 million in dead money.
It would be somewhat surprising if the Dolphins move on from Grant, months after giving him a four-year contract. But the final seven weeks are big for him in determining that.
Meanwhile, Flores likes what he has seen from new receiver Gary Jennings but was non-committal about whether he would play Sunday.
“Gary has been here just over a week; he’s in here early, stays late,” Flores said. “Has done a good over the last week, offensively and in the kicking game. Trying to learn the verbiage, that’s extensive. He’s making some strides. Is he quite ready to get out there? We’ll see. Young player who’s talented, can run, has some size. He’s shown some things that work in his favor as a person and how he prepares.”
▪ Here’s another issue that needs clarity over the final seven games: Which interior linemen can be projected as 2020 starters?
Center Daniel Kilgore played his best game of the season last week in his return from a knee injury, and he will need more of that to warrant a return. Kilgore’s $3.1 million salary isn’t guaranteed next season, and Miami would save his entire $3.6 million cap hit by cutting him.
Evan Boehm, ranked 63 of 79 qualifying guards by PFF, was competent at center in Kilgore’s absence and has been decent at guard. Rookie Michael Deiter has had growing pains — ranking only 76th of 79 guards — but offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo insists he’s going to be a good player.
Deiter has allowed four sacks — seventh-most among all guards — and 14 hurries (19th most). PFF rates his run blocking among the 10 worst guards in the league — surprising because that was a strength at Wisconsin.
The Dolphins are expected to add an established guard in free agency, which could leave Deiter and Boehm competing for one starting job, or Boehm at center and Deiter the front-runner to start at the other guard spot. But I would expect two new starters on this line next season.
And Jesse Davis would enter the equation if the Dolphins decide to move him from guard to tackle.
▪ This isn’t healthy, but every time I see Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt get another sack (he had one last night, 10.5 for the season, and 30.5 for the season), I can’t help but think of Dolphins linebacker Charles Harris, who was selected by Miami eight spots earlier for reasons we explained here.
Harris has no sacks this season and just three in his career. His playing time has diminished considerably in the past month - he played just 16 last week - and his numbers are modest: 17 tackles, three QB hits, three tackles for loss.
But he’s trying to stay positive. “Just trying to make a play every time you’re out there,” he said this week. “That’s all you can do. Just got to keep going, believe [something good will happen] in the next snap.”
One of the disappointments of the season is that the Dolphins’ new role for Harris - including using him more as a standup outside linebacker - hasn’t translated to more production. He estimates he’s played about half his snaps as a stand-up linebacker, half as a hand-in-the-dirt end.
Harris is due $1.9 million next season. He has a $3.4 million cap hit if he’s on the team, $3.1 million if he’s cut.
▪ With Pittsburgh’s loss to Cleveland on Thursday, the Steelers’ draft position rose from 22nd to 15th - good news for the Dolphins, who own Miami’s first-round pick.
Players projected in that mid-teens range, in ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft, include Alabama offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, Clemson receiver Tee Higgins, Alabama outside linebacker Terrell Lewis, Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo and Georgia running back D’Andre Swift.
▪ Quick stuff: With the Dolphins already one of the league’s most disciplined teams (they’ve committed the fewest penalties), Flores indicated he isn’t sure if he will show his team tape of Cleveland Browns player Myles Garrett’s helmet-swinging incident at the end of Thursday’s game. (His players assuredly will see it anyway.) Garrett was suspended for the rest of the season... The Dolphins will be one of 11 teams attending the Saturday workout for Colin Kaepernick, which former coach Joe Philbin will be involved in running, assisting former Browns coach Hue Jackson…
The NFL shifted the Nov. 24 Dolphins-at-Browns game from CBS to Fox as one of several moves designed to balance the network schedules that day. Green Bay-San Francisco was flexed to Sunday night on NBC, replacing Seattle-Philadelphia, which was moved to 1 p.m… CBS is sending Sunday’s Dolphins-Bills game only to areas of natural interest. Here are Sunday’s TV maps.
This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 2:02 PM.
