Tagovailoa to start Sunday; Fuller out
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 Monday.
“He’s definitely limited; definitely some discomfort,” Flores said.
“He hit the finger again [Thursday against Baltimore]. We were trying to avoid that, but it happened. We will monitor that as the week goes. Get the swelling out of there, do the best we can. He’s had some time to rest it.”
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who left Thursday’s game with a knee injury but was cleared to return, isn’t 100 percent, either. He was limited in Monday’s practice.
“It was kind of a scary situation, but thankfully it’s not anything serious,” Flores said. “Let’s call him day-to-day.”
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 is 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.
THIS AND THAT
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 permittted 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 on Monday.
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.”
Dolphins players appreciated how Tagovailoa handled himself in relief of Brissett on Thursday night.
“He knows how to win games,” Davis said. “Tua prepares the right way. He knows how to communicate to us. For him to come off a short week and injury to Jacoby, hats off to him. He did a good job. Tua comes in and looks you in the eye with
confidence and gives you the play. He doesn’t stutter. He shows confidence to his players.”
Tight end Mike Gesicki put it this way:
“Great kid, good leader. He’s cool, calm, collected and does his job at an effective rate and everyone is excited to play with him.”
Receiver Isaiah Ford — who had four catches for 84 yards against Baltimore — said that people have told him that he has nine lives with the Dolphins.
“I’ve heard that a few times, the ex-girlfriend who keeps coming back,” he cracked Monday.
The Dolphins have made 18 transactions with Ford, between cutting him, signing him, signing him to the practice squad or promoting him.
“It’s a testament to the way I’ve carried myself and the way I worked in the classroom and onfield,” he said.
Ford was cut Aug. 24 but re-signed Oct. 23 after multiple injuries to receivers. “I was fortunate they wanted me to come back,” Ford said.
After previous departures, Flores and general manager Chris Grier have told him “you never know, we may cross paths again.”
Ford, who was briefly with New England last season but never appeared in a game, has played in 25 NFL games, with one start — all for the Dolphins — and has 57 catches, 617 yards and a touchdown.
A former seventhround pick, Ford said his ability to sustain a fiveyear career and keep coming back to the Dolphins “is a testament to my parents. If you leave a good impression, a lasting impression, you can cross paths again and never burn bridges.”
Flores said rookie safety Jevon Holland is “mature beyond his years, smart, talented. 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.