Miami Dolphins’ Flores addresses status of Wilkins, Van Ginkel, Tagovailoa, more
Coach Brian Flores indicated he’s hopeful, but not certain, that Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel can play Sunday at the Jets.
Wilkins has been dealing with a quadriceps injury.
Van Ginkel has been dealing with a back injury.
Wilkins missed Wednesday’s practice and was limited on Thursday. Van Ginkel was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
[UPDATE: Both were limited on Friday and are questionable for Sunday’s game.]
Meanwhile, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa — who will start Sunday — is no longer limited in practice with the fractured finger on his throwing hand.
“He’s had a good couple days of practice,” Flores said. “We’ll see how [Friday] goes. He’s had some discomfort but fighting through it. He’s looked good.”
Flores addressed other issues in his Friday news conference:
▪ On why the Dolphins added former Jaguars quarterback Jake Luton to the practice squad:
“We [studied] him before the [2020] draft. He’s someone we had some interest in. Felt it was good opportunity to take a look at him. We’ll keep working with him and see how that looks.”
▪ Asked if they have considered signing or promoting a running back from the practice squad, Flores was noncommittal.
“There are always conversations about who best guys are to win this week,” Flores said. “Conversations will be had.”
The Dolphins have the option of elevating Gerrid Doaks or Duke Johnson from the practice squad.
▪ Flores, on receiver Mack Hollins: “He brings a lot of juice to practice. He’s a lot of fun.”
▪ Flores said the gunner role on special teams is the most difficult job in the league.
▪ Flores said of Jets leading rusher Michael Carter: “We liked him at the Senior Bowl [earlier this year, when the Dolphins coached him]. You could see professionalism that week. Good young back, good vision. Downhill runner. He’s good out of the backfield.”
▪ On why Jamal Perry has stuck around for all three years of Flores’ tenure and was promoted to the 53-man roster this week: “His versatility, ability to play in the kicking game, [can play] corner, star, free safety. He’s fast. We like him. He’s helped us in a few games this year. Hopefully he helps us this week.”
▪ Will former Bengals starting defensive tackle Andrew Billings — who was signed to the practice squad this week — be elevated or promoted this week?
“There’s a lot we got to get through, playbook, getting to know his teammates,” Flores said. “I’m not sure he knows how to get to the stadium yet... He’s done a good job. First day in pads, he showed some things we liked. If he can help us, we’ll put him out there.”
▪ Flores is working on growing a beard because his “son asked me to grow hair to see what it looks like.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 11:00 AM.
