Brian Flores addresses Miami Dolphins’ new player, gives update on Breida, COVID-situation
The Miami Dolphins aren’t sure if they will get Matt Breida back for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
But they will get a new player in the running back room: De’Andre Washington, the former Raiders and Chiefs back who was acquired from Kansas City last week in a trade involving late-round conditional picks.
“We watched him during the free agency process last year,” Brian Flores said. “He’s got good vision, good run skills, good catching the ball out of the backfield. Doing background on him, he’s a hard worker, competitive. We saw an opportunity and Chris Grier and the personnel staff did a good job pinpointing the type of guy we’re looking for.”
Washington, who has a 4.0-yards-per-carry average on 285 career rushing attempts but just three rushing attempts this season, was not eligible to play last Sunday because players must pass five COVID-19 tests in five days before becoming eligible to practice or play.
If Breida cannot play Sunday, carries could be shared among Jordan Howard, Salvon Ahmed and Washington.
But Breida’s return is certainly a possibility this week. He would have been limited if the team had practiced fully Wednesday. Instead, Miami did a walk-through practice — and Breida participated.
“It was nice to see him out there Wednesday,” Flores said. “[See him] take a few reps and see him move around a little bit. He’s fast, he’s explosive, he’s tough, done a really nice job. As a runner, broken some big plays.”
Flores addressed other issues:
▪ Has Flores spoken to guard Solomon Kindley about losing playing time? Kindley was replaced after one quarter last Sunday and played only 15 snaps.
“I talk to everyone on the team,” Flores said. “My message is the same: Let’s improve and get better every day and what happened last week or six weeks ago doesn’t matter. It’s about how you perform in practice today. And that’s how you take advantage of opportunities.”
Kindley, who has started every game at right guard, went to the bench after Austin Jackson came into the game at left tackle, moving Jesse Davis to right guard. Who plays those two spots — as well as right tackle — will be determined week to week, Flores said.
▪ Receiver Lynn Bowden Jr., who had been on the COVID-19 list since last Friday, returned to practice Thursday, Flores said. He added that a “couple” of the five coaches who had been in COVID protocol also were back at practice.
▪ Does Flores have any idea if rookies Bowden or Malcolm Perry — two former college quarterbacks — can become long-term slot receivers as opposed to occasionally used change-of-pace guys?
Flores said nobody knows. “It’s still very early. It takes time. Basically, there’s a growth here that occurs over a period of time.”
▪ Will the Dolphins be less inclined to blitz Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert because he has played well against pressure?
“You see some of things you’ve done in the past show up in the previous game, and it makes you think twice about going that route,” Flores said. “He’s done a good job against pressure. But he’s really done a good job against everything — run game, pass game, screens, draws.”
▪ On Chargers receiver Keenan Allen, Flores said: “Very good route runner, good after the catch. Very good player. They’ve got other guys that pose problems as well … Mike Williams, Hunter Henry. We need to deal with Keenan in the slot when he’s in the slot. They do a good job of moving these guys around.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 9:40 AM.
