Miami Dolphins’ Flores addresses Tua, Fuller, other issues as team returns to practice
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa remains limited with his fractured middle finger on his throwing hand but will start Sunday at the Jets, coach Brian Flores said.
“He’s definitely limited; definitely some discomfort,” Flores said. “He hit the finger again [Thursday against Baltimore]. We will monitor that as the week goes. Get the swelling out of there, do the best we can.”
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who left Thursday’s game with a knee injury but was cleared to return, isn’t 100 percent, either. Flores said he was limited during Monday’s practice.
“Scary situation, but thankfully not anything serious,” Flores said.
Meanwhile, Flores said receiver Will Fuller likely will miss a seventh consecutive game with a finger injury.
Fuller, center Michael Deiter (foot) and running back Malcolm Brown (quad) are all eligible to return from injured reserve but none are ready physically to play on Sunday, Flores said.
Meanwhile, safety Jason McCourty is out for the year with a foot injury sustained last month.
Receiver DeVante Parker (hamstring) must spend at least one more week on injured reserve.
Flores addressed other issues in his Monday news conference:
▪ Liam Eichenberg will remain the team’s starting left tackle even though he has allowed six sacks in six games at that position and even though he has allowed the most quarterback pressures of any NFL offensive lineman.
For weeks, the Dolphins have discussed having right guard Robert Hunt and right tackle Jesse Davis flip positions. But they have opted against it to this point. Flores didn’t rule it out.
Flores said the team must consider whether moving one player moving will help another “That’s the group we’ve had out there. But there’s always evaluation post game. There’s always a possibility things will change.”
▪ Flores warned against concluding that Miami’s blitz-heavy strategy against Baltimore will always be the approach moving forward.
“It won’t always be as blitz heavy,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a coverage game. Sometimes it’s a blitz game. Sometimes it’s a mix of both. To have flexibility to play different styles is something we want to do. The [young] safeties are getting better every day.”
▪ Rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle is third in the league in receptions. On the balance between getting him a lot of catches and spreading the ball around, Flores said: “I think you can do both. If you spread it around, it makes the defense deal with the entire group and not just focus on one guy. That’s what you’re looking to try to do offensively.”
▪ On the Jets: “Young team. They play with great effort. They beat a couple good teams. We are going to have to do a good job in our preparation.”
▪ On receiver Albert Wilson: “Albert played well, made some big plays for us. Run game and pass game. That’s something that definitely helped us in the game. Hopefully, that is something that will continue.”
▪ Rookie Safety Jevon Holland is “mature beyond his years, smart, talented,” Flores said. “Very much so a professional. From an intangible standpoint, he has a lot of things we’re looking for. Combine that with his athletic ability, ability to do multiple things” and that’s a good package.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 1:14 PM.
