MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It’ll be more time lost for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller.
The speedy deep threat the Dolphins signed to a one-year deal this offseason will be placed on injured reserve, coach Brian Flores said on Wednesday.
Fuller had already been ruled out for Sunday’s game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a broken finger when Flores talked to reporters on Monday. On Wednesday, the timeline for his return was extended to at least three weeks, the minimum for players placed on IR.
Fuller’s availability for the Dolphins after signing for $10.6 million plus incentives continues to be sidetracked. The sixth-year wideout is yet to play more than 11 games in a season since his rookie year.
Fuller missed the Dolphins’ opener at New England serving the final game of a six-game suspension for a PED violation left over from last season while he was with the Houston Texans. He then was out for the Sept. 19 loss to the Buffalo Bills due to personal reasons.
He debuted for the Dolphins at Las Vegas on Sept. 26, making three catches for 20 yards plus the tying 2-point conversion that forced overtime in the loss to the Raiders. He then left Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Colts in the first half.
Raekwon’s return
Dolphins nose tackle Raekwon Davis is returning to practice this week after three weeks on injured reserve, Flores said on Wednesday.
Flores said the team will see how he responds in practice before activating him off injured reserve and onto the 53-man roster.
Davis had been out since suffering a knee injury on the opening defensive series of the season on Sept. 12 against the New England Patriots.
Flores, on Monday, indicated he was “hopeful” Davis could be back this week. A return would come after the minimum three weeks on injured reserve.
With the 6-foot-7, 330-pound run stuffer out of the lineup, the Dolphins have struggled in run defense. They are 27th in the NFL against the run, allowing 136.7 rushing yards per game.
“Raekwon’s a good football player. He’ll definitely help us when he gets back,” said defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. “I think, for us, the thing that we need to harp on is we just need to consistently be better. We do it in spurts. We do it in times. It only takes one bad play to make something not so good. We just need to be more consistent with our fundamentals and technique.”
Added Flores: “When healthy, I think he was doing a lot of good things at the end of training camp, beginning of the season. He’s big. He’s strong. He’s hard to move inside, so we’re hopeful that he has a couple good days of practice and we can get him out there.”
Davis is in his second season after being a second-round pick out of Alabama in the 2020 NFL draft. His play late in his rookie season led Miami to be a much-improved run defense in the second half of last year.
While Davis practiced Wednesday, cornerback Byron Jones was not seen during the media viewing portion of Wednesday drills.
Jones suffered a quadriceps injury in Sunday’s loss to the Colts and did not return to the game.
Recent moves
Flores detailed the team’s thought process with a couple of recent roster moves, trading wide receiver and kick/punt returner Jakeem Grant and signing center Austin Reiter off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad.
“The Jakeem move, felt like we had some depth at the receiver room, wanted to get some other guys going as receivers and in the return game,” Flores said.
Grant’s departure, which ridded Miami of his contract and got the Dolphins a 2023 sixth-round pick from the Chicago Bears, now opens up an opportunity for rookie Jaylen Waddle to handle kicks and punts.
“Confident in Waddle,” Flores said. “He’s had a lot of success in college, hasn’t really gotten back there much this year. Had the one opportunity, didn’t go so well, but looking forward to getting him out there, getting more returns.”
Reiter brings previous starting experience while on the Kansas City Chiefs, where he also won a Super Bowl.
“More depth with [Michael] Deiter going down,” said Flores after his starting center was placed on injured reserve last week. “We had to bring Cameron Tom up from the practice squad last week, so just looking for depth at that position, but anyone who steps into the building is given an opportunity to compete.”
On Sunday, Greg Mancz started at center in his Dolphins debut and played every offensive snap.
