Miami Dolphins get one receiver back, lose another. Preston Williams addresses his return
The Miami Dolphins got one wide receiver back Thursday but lost another when Preston Williams came off the physically unable to perform list but Lynn Bowden Jr. left practice with a leg injury.
Williams had been sidelined since sustaining a Lisfranc foot injury last November against Arizona. He said he knew at the time that he would be out for an extended period but that his foot feels fine now.
He was limited to individual drills Thursday but hopes to receive clearance soon to participate in team drills.
“Happy to be back out here with the guys,” Williams said after the Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons conducted the second of two days of joint practices.
“I was just waiting for the doctor to clear me. It feels good to put the pads on. Toughest part was watching the game. Seeing your brothers battling every day, you want to be out there with them.”
The injury during the game in Glendale, Arizona, happened as Williams was making a touchdown catch, his seventh in 16 career regular-season games.
“I landed on my foot, heard it pop,” he said.
Though some suspected Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins caused the injury by stepping on Williams’ foot, Williams said that was not the case.
“Christian celebrating, that’s what we do every game,” Williams said. “That had nothing to do with it. I hate that people are saying that.”
Williams played in eight games each of his first two NFL seasons, with both seasons ending prematurely due to injury. In 2019 due to a torn ACL and 2020 due to the foot.
He had 32 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie and 18 for 288 last season, with four touchdowns. Williams has started 14 of the 16 games in which he has appeared.
“The ceiling is still high,” Williams, 24, said. “I’m still relatively young in this league. Still trying to prove myself. The confidence is still there, competitive edge is still there.”
Were his spirits down the past nine months? “You have days, but you follow the process and you’ll be all right.”
Williams immediately will join a receiver competition that has been missing a handful of players, including DeVante Parker (hamstring), Will Fuller (lower body), Albert Wilson and Isaiah Ford. All four of those receivers remained sidelined Thursday. Wilson was on the field tossing the ball to himself.
And Bowden was on the ground writhing in pain after making a catch Thursday, then limped off holding the back of his leg and walked into the team facility, missing the remainder of practice. The severity of the injury was undetermined as of early Thursday afternoon.
Williams said “when everybody is out there healthy and playing, we’re going to be real dangerous. It’s day to day with those guys. We have fast guys, big guys, guys that can do everything” at wide receiver.
Williams said of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa: “Definitely the game has slowed down for him. He seems more confident.”
ROBERTS BACK, TOO
The Dolphins also activated linebacker Elandon Roberts from the PUP list. Roberts, who sustained a serious knee injury in a December game at Las Vegas, started 11 games for the Dolphins last season but now projects as a backup behind Benardrick McKinney at inside linebacker, opposite Jerome Baker.
Roberts had 61 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his first year as a Dolphin last season.
▪ Besides Fuller, Parker, Wilson and Ford, also absent from practice on Thursday were tight end Cethan Carter, who sustained a lower-body injury against Chicago, as well as linebacker Vince Biegel, safety Brandon Jones (ankle) and linebacker Sam Eguavoen (COVID list).
Cornerback Javaris Davis was limited. Nik Needham left late in practice with a lower body injury; he was driven in a cart to the facility but was able to get off the cart and walk inside without visible distress.
Tight end Hunter Long is back practicing fully but wearing a brace on his injured knee.
▪ Cornerback Xavien Howard, who missed most of the first two weeks of camp with an ankle injury, intercepted Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan on Thursday and said he expects to play Saturday against Atlanta (7 p.m., CBS-4).
“I’m feeling great, focusing on getting better, knocking off some rust,” he said.
He loves the upside of this defense: “The sky is the limit for us on the defensive side. See a lot of great things going. Our goal is to be better than last year.”
And Howard is intrigued by the playmaking skills of rookie safety Jevon Holland, who Thursday had his fourth interception in the past two weeks of camp.
“He finds the ball,” Howard said. “The ball finds him. That’s one thing, me and him — we find the ball. Seeing that from a young guy at safety, making plays on the ball, it’s exciting to have him.”
▪ Highlights from Thursday’s second joint session with the Falcons: Emmanuel Ogbah had three sacks on the Falcons’ final first team drive… Tagovailoa threw just his sixth interception in 11-on-11 drills in 15 training camp practices. He also had several touchdowns in red zone drills, including to Adam Shaheen, Mack Hollins and Jakeem Grant. Isaiah Oliver got the interception for Atlanta...
Solomon Kindley opened with the first team at left guard in place of Liam Eichenberg, who primarily had been in that spot for the past two weeks. Eichenberg was second-team right tackle behind Jesse Davis…
Practice ended when Dolphins safety Jamal Perry intercepted Falcons quarterback AJ McCarron off a deflection.
▪ The Dolphins signed linebacker Josh Harvey Clemons, who has 41 career tackles and 1.5 sacks in 35 games over three seasons with the Washington Football Team.
Here was our live blog from Thursday’s practice.
Here’s what Brian Flores had to say in his Thursday press conference.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 2:21 PM.
