Starting left guard Josh Sitton misses his second straight practice.
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins might be forced to play Sunday’s game against the New York Jets without starting left guard Josh Sitton, who is nursing a shoulder injury that has forced him to sit out the past two practices.
Sitton suffered the injury in Miami’s 27-20 win over the Tennessee Titans while helping Miami’s offensive line pave the way for 120 rushing yards. Sitton, an 11-year-veteran, is viewed as the Dolphins’ top run-blocking offensive lineman, which means his absence could handcuff Miami’s offense against a Jets team that held the Lions to 39 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
“When you’ve got a defense that plays as fast as they do, as physical as they do, they create pressure on the quarterback. It might not always be about sacks; it’s really about pass disruption,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said about the Jets defense, which hasn’t recorded a sack yet. “They create a lot more pressure than what anybody really realizes, because everybody always just wants to look at sacks, and it’s not always about that.”
If Sitton isn’t healthy enough to play on Sunday, the Dolphins would likely replace him with Ted Larsen, who served as Miami’s starting left guard for the final eight games of 2018.
Larsen has started 73 games during his nine-year career. He typically serves as the backup guard and center for the Dolphins, but this week’s signing of veteran center Travis Swanson will ease that workload.
“It’s just like every other game. I prepare as if I’m going to play, and then I do play,” Larsen said, referring to his work with the firstteam line. “I’m ready for it if it happens. If you’re a backup you really don’t get to work on the stuff for that week, so getting a few extra reps helps with preparation.”
Swanson spent his first four seasons starting 42 games for the Lions before signing with the Jets, who released him two weeks ago when assembling the 53-man roster.
Guard Isaac Asiata, the Dolphins’ 2017 fifth-round pick, and rookie center Connor Hilland, a former William & Mary standout, are on Miami’s practice squad, and would need to be called up to the 53-man roster by Saturday if Miami intended to use either for the game.
Injury update
Dolphins defensive lineman William Hayes is practicing with a cast on his right hand to protect a finger injury he suffered against the Titans. Hayes, who is the Dolphins’ top run-stopper, plays both end and tackle in Miami’s defensive line rotation. He practiced without limitations the past two days, which hints he’ll likely play.
■ Starting offensive tackles Laremy Tunsil and Ja’Wuan James are both nursing hamstring injuries, but they each practiced without limitations for the past two days. ■ Receiver Danny Amendola, who sat out Wednesday practice for an undisclosed reason, participated in Thursday’s session. ■ Tailback Frank Gore, who is 15 yards shy of becoming the fourth leading rusher in NFL history, has his participation limited during Thursday’s session during the period of practice the media watched. Gore, whose 61 yards lead the Dolphins in rushing, has consistently been given veteran rest days since training camp.
■ Long snapper John Denney, who suffered a shoulder injury that has limited his practice participation this week, is confident he’ll extend his franchise record of playing in 209 consecutive games by snapping against the Jets on Sunday. “I’m not concerned,” Denney said. “I’m just trying to give it as much time to get back to 100 percent as I can….I’ve had injuries like this throughout my career where I’ve had to take it easy in the week to give it time to recover.”