South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Safety Holland comes off COVID list
Rookie receiver Waddle out for matchup vs. Jets
The Miami Dolphins got back one of the team’s two rookie standout starters from the COVID-19 reserve list, as free safety Jevon Holland was cleared to play in Sunday’s 1 p.m. home game against the New York Jets.
Holland, who was one of six Dolphins players on the COVID19 reserve this past week, produced the two negative COVID-19 tests necessary for his clearance.
The rookie safety, who has contributed 51 tackles, two interceptions, two sacks and three fumbles recovered in his 13 games this season, joins tailback Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed as the Dolphins players who returned from the COVID-19 reserve list this past week.
Whether Holland, Gaskin and Ahmed play on Sunday is a coaches’ decision. The last time Miami was in this situation, the Dolphins opted to have offensive lineman Austin Jackson sit out the season opener because he hadn’t practiced for a full week. However, Jackson was active for the game, and served as a backup.
Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle, tailback Phillip Lindsay, and rookie tailback Gerrid Doaks, who is a member of Miami’s practice squad, remained on the
COVID-19 reserve list by Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline, which determined a player’s eligibility for Sunday’s game.
The Dolphins will be forced to play without all three, but it’s Waddle’s absence that will be the toughest to overcome.
Waddle, who has contributed
86 receptions for 849 yards and has scored five touchdowns this season, has become the focal point of Miami’s passing game. He’s played all three receiver spots, and has been quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s go-to playmaker.
His absence likely means DeVante Parker must take on a larger role in his second game back from a hamstring injury that got him shut down for a month in November.
Parker, who has recorded 30 receptions for 389 yards and one touchdown, has caught at least four passes in every game he’s played this season. In his return to the team two weeks ago, he caught five passes for 62 yards in Miami’s 20-9 win over the New York Giants.
It also means Mike Gesicki could have a larger package of snaps at slot receiver, which is a role he’s played for three seasons now. And most importantly, the Dolphins would need Preston Williams, Albert Wilson, Mack Hollins and Isaiah Ford, the four other receivers on the roster, to pick up their contribution level.
The Dolphins also elevated receiver Tommylee Lewis up from the practice squad. Lewis, a five-year veteran who was signed this past week, has experience as a punt and kickoff returner from his four seasons with the New Orleans Saints. It’s likely that he’ll fill that role with Waddle sidelined and Holland’s practice time this past week being limited.
Waddle and Holland have been Miami’s primary punt returners since the Dolphins traded Jakeem Grant to the Chicago Bears in October.
Lewis, a former Dwyer High standout, has returned 45 career punts for 404 yards, averaging 9.0 yards per return, and he’s returned
27 kickoffs for 617 yards (22.9 per return).
The Dolphins also took backup center Greg Mancz off injured reserve, returning him to the
53-man roster, where he’ll serve as Michael Deiter’s primary backup.
Mancz started four games for the Dolphins while Deiter rehabbed a quadriceps and foot injury he’s since made a return from. Mancz spent the past four weeks on injured reserve because of a knee injury.