Dolphins with looming decision on only former Pro Bowler on offense. And personnel notes
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:
▪ This week, the Dolphins get back their only player on offense who has ever been to a Pro Bowl.
The question is what kind of role awaits running back Phillip Lindsay on Monday at New Orleans and over the team’s final three games.
His Dolphins debut – on Nov. 28 against Carolina - was encouraging, including 12 rushes for 42 yards. But he missed the subsequent game against the Giants with an ankle injury, then sat out Sunday’s game against the Jets while on the NFL’s COVID-19 list.
During his absence, Duke Johnson ran for 107 yards against the Jets, creating difficult decisions at what had been one of the Dolphins’ weakest positions for much of the season.
The Dolphins now must figure out how to allocate carries among Johnson, Lindsay, Myles Gaskin (who has started 10 games this season), Salvon Ahmed and Malcolm Brown, who has missed seven games with a quadriceps injury but is practicing and ready to return from injured reserve.
“I’m very antsy, very excited,” Lindsay said Wednesday. “I’m very excited to be back and do what I’m supposed to do, whatever that is.”
Lindsay said he had no symptoms - aside from fatigue - during his bout with COVID last week and isolated in his basement because he was worried about his fiancee (who caught the virus after him) and his 1-year-old child.
“I stayed downstairs in my basement the whole time,” he said. “My fiancee ended up getting it and two days later, her muscles were hurting really bad. We had to quarantine, keep our son from getting it. You see how real this is and see it’s something serious that people are still dying from today. I’ve had family members hospitalized” before the vaccine was available.
He said the fact he was vaccinated was “one of the reasons I didn’t have significant symptoms.”
Lindsay - who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie for Denver in 2018 - pointed to one positive of missing games:
“I got to observe and watch my teammates and understand the run scheme and understand what they’re looking for.”
He said he kept in shape during quarantine by doing push-ups and sit-ups.
He appreciates what Johnson did when given the chance.
“People see Duke can catch the ball well, but he really is a hard nosed runner,” Lindsay said. “Think when he was at the University of Miami, that’s what he does best. It’s about finishing blocks, finishing runs. If you do that enough, you can wear defenses down and get the momentum going. Duke did a great job breaking tackles. Duke is 210, strong, patient. Duke was hungry, coming from Cleveland and Houston.”
Johnson broke eight tackles against the Jets, most of any running back this past weekend, per Pro Football Focus.
Per Elias, Johnson on Sunday became the first player to rush for 100 or more yards in his first Dolphins start since Ricky Williams ran for 111 against Detroit on Sept. 8, 2002. The last time a Dolphins player had 100-plus rushing yards in his first career start was JJ Johnson on Nov. 21, 1999.
▪ Like Lindsay, Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle indicated he also wasn’t sick during his bout with COVID.
“I was at the house just chilling, on quarantine,” he said.
Did he have any symptoms? “No, I was cool for real,” he said.
But he said missing Sunday’s Jets game “was very disappointing. I watched enough games last year when I was in college” and was sidelined for seven games with an ankle injury.
Waddle, incidentally, said he’s going to Tua Tagovailoa’s house for Christmas on Saturday.
“Hopefully he has gifts for me,” Waddle said of his Dolphins and former Alabama teammate. “He doesn’t even know I’m going there. I might pop up at a whole bunch of peoples’ houses to get food, show my face.”
▪ Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson opted out of last season because he was concerned about catching COVID-19 and infecting his family.
Amid this surge in cases, does he have peace of mind because he’s vaccinated?
“I still have some questions,” he said. “But I’m still doing the best I can to stay out of the way and prevent it from coming into my household. I have no regrets from last year. I think I did what’s best for me, my family. It worked out pretty well for me. Everyone stayed healthy and fortunately no one in my circle has gotten the virus. I’m just going to try to stay ahead of this thing as much as possible.”
Wilson said the key is “test as much as possible, stay masked up and keep my distance. We’ve done a good job at the Dolphins of being home and being virtual. I think our organization itself is doing a great job to keep us safe. As long as we stay by the guidelines and do what we need to do outside the field, I think everything will turn out good.”
Wilson missed Wednesday’s practice because of a personal reason but will be available against the Saints, Flores said.
▪ The Dolphins really like how cornerback Byron Jones has been playing during this winning streak.
“Byron had some production for us last week; he had a very solid game,” defensive coordinator Josh Boyer said. “He’s doing a lot of good things. [There are] a lot of good things he does that a lot of people don’t see. He seems to be playing some of his best ball.”
▪ Per Pro Football Focus, Xavien Howard has been targeted only three times in the past two games and hasn’t allowed a reception, while intercepting a pass.
“I’m out there on an island trying to do my job,” he said. “Teams are trying to lull me to sleep and try to take advantage with exotic plays.”
▪ Per PFF, the Dolphins’ highest-rated player at any position is Zach Sieler, who’s rated sixth among all interior defensive linemen.
“Zach comes in and is so consistent and does what he has to do, great teammate and great guy,” linebacker Jerome Baker said. “We’re happy for him. He derserves everything he’s getting. You have a lot of respect for a guy like that.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2021 at 3:16 PM.
