Coaches mum about DeVante Parker’s availability.
DAVIE — Maybe, this is the week Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker returns to action.
If so, Parker and Dolphins coach Adam Gase are not yet tipping their hand.
“I’ve been feeling good the past couple days,” Parker said Thursday, before Miami’s Week 3 home game against the Oakland Raiders. “We’ll see on Sunday.”
Added Gase, shortly after praising Parker’s resolve while healing from a broken finger:
“We’ll find out.”
While Parker was a full participant in practice last week, he was inactive and considered a healthy scratch for the Dolphins’ win over the Jets.
Parker said Gase told him another week of recovery would only help him improve.
“It does, actually,” Parker said when asked about if the extra time did the trick. “Big difference.”
Gase, for the second straight week, lauded Parker for his approach in practice since his return.
Parker has been sidelined since Aug. 12 after he broke the middle finger on his right hand in a nearly 90-degree angle. He returned to practice on Sept. 7, and has gradually improved his ability to catch footballs despite the injury.
Parker still practices with his middle finger heavily taped around his index finger, but has not shown any signs of being hindered by the injury.
“I can catch the same and block,” Parker said. “Everything is still there.”
While Parker believes he may not have had an ideal training camp, losing some 50-50 battles with cornerback Xavien Howard before sustaining the injury, Gase thinks Parker has made steady improvements and can ultimately contribute to the Dolphins offense this season.
“Mentality, I thought he was good as far as all the stuff we were doing,” Gase said of Parker.
“I know he didn’t think training camp was going as smoothly as he wanted it to be. I think he was hoping to make more plays in practice on some of those 50-50 balls. But a lot of the other things were really good with what we were working on.
“I feel like he’s in a really good place right now. I think he’s taken a step back, getting healthy and staying engaged, I think it’s really helped him. I love how his attitude has been since he’s been back practicing with us, and his energy level.”