Dolphins’ McDaniel addresses Waddle, cornerback, Patriots signing a Dolphin before opener
For years, the Patriots have had a history of plucking released Dolphins and putting them on their team - or practice squad -before facing the Dolphins.
That happened again on Thursday, with New England signing Lynn Bowden Jr. to its practice squad, two days after the Dolphins waived him.
Does that put the Dolphins at any risk or require them to change any of their play calls before the teams meet on Sept. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium?
“No,” McDaniel said. “That was a concern early in my career considering you can go on line and buy almost every playbook I’ve ever worked on. It doesn’t concern me at all. I would assume they were doing that because they had exposure to him and not to get cryptic answers because if he had those answers, I’m not that cryptic.”
McDaniel added: “I’m happy for Lynn. You invest in each and every player and you have to let guys go. Their sacrifice is not lost on me.”
Last year, the Patriots claimed Malcolm Perry three days after Miami cut him, and a week before the teams played each other in the season opener. Perry subsequently was injured and never played a down for New England. Earlier this summer, Perry announced his retirement from the NFL. He plans to return to the U.S. Navy to continue his service.
The Patriots have quickly signed released Dolphins weeks before playing them in previous seasons, with Jamil Douglas among those players.
McDaniel addressed other issues in his Thursday press briefing:
▪ In a point system vote among players for captain jobs, Tua Tagovailoa got the most votes of any Dolphin player, McDaniel said. Here are the other captains.
“You’re seeing the representatives chosen by the players to be their leaders, and to me, there’s nothing more important than that,” McDaniel said.
▪ McDaniel, on Jevon Holland being named a captain: “That’s the making of a special individual. That’s great news for the Dolphins when there’s an alignment between talent and respect. It blows my mind he’s a second-year, 22-year-old, while also making me feel very old.”
▪ Players aren’t separated by position in the locker-room, and that’s by design.
He said when he first met players after he got the Dolphins job, “I kept hearing this commonality that it’s offense vs. defense. This just in, the won/loss column is one team. I want players to be as close as possible, as invested in each other as possible. Why would I have guys who go to position meetings sit next to each other? They see each other all the time.
“This was the first action I could take to facilitate better team camaraderie. You spend a lot of time there. You should be sitting next to someone that you’re not spending time with all day. When I got the [facility] tour, I made a note. I didn’t tell [general manager Chris Grier] because I hadn’t gotten the job yet.”
▪ McDaniel said he’s “very, very, very confident” that Jaylen Waddle will play in the opener, and that he would have played had there been a game last Sunday. “It was being proactive and cautious,” McDaniel said. “He was one of the most impressive players on the entire team coming back from [the offseason program] and the entire training camp.”
Waddle has missed two weeks of practice with an undisclosed lower body injury.
▪ On the third through fifth cornerbacks with Bryon Jones out for at least four games, McDaniel said: “I know the names don’t get you guys juiced up, but when they play you get quality play on the field.”
Those players, listed in no order in particular, are Keion Crossen, Noah Igbinoghene and Kader Kohou. Safety Elijah Campbell also is playing cornerback.
Xavien Howard and Nik Needham are the likely starters for the opener when the Dolphins are in base defense, with Needham replacing Jones on the boundary while Jones takes more time to heal from March leg surgery.
▪ McDaniel mentioned that edge players (defensive ends/outside linebackers) are his favorite and discussed how impactful they are. He likes the depth at the position so opposing offenses must prepare for a variety of moves. He said he will implore Grier to draft one every year.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 12:04 PM.
