Grant placed on IR
Second-year receiver Ford brought up from the practice squad
Bills linebacker Corey Thompson misses a tackle as Dolphins receiver Jakeem Grant runs for a touchdown during their game on Nov. 17.
DAVIE — The Miami Dolphins placed Jakeem Grant on injured reserve Wednesday after the speedy receiver and return specialist sprained his right ankle in last Sunday’s 41-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
This is the second consecutive year Grant’s season has ended prematurely because of an injury. Last year, Grant suffered a left foot injury that coincidentally ended his 2018 season at this exact same point.
Grant’s departure leaves Miami searching for a third healthy receiver because Albert Wilson is also nursing a rib injury that will likely limit his practice participation — and could prevent him from playing in Miami’s final five games.
Wilson is expected to practice in some capacity this week before this Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles (5-6).
The Dolphins (2-9) added second-year receiver Isaiah Ford to their 53-man roster from their practice squad on Wednesday.
Grant, who had battled nagging injuries most of the season, finished with 19 receptions for 164 yards and a rushing touchdown.
He also returned 23 kickoffs for 578 yards and scored a touchdown on a 101-yard kickoff return against the Buffalo Bills in a 37-20 loss earlier this month. He ends his season ranking sixth in the NFL with a 25.1 yards-per-kickoff-return average.
“God has something big planned for me, just another obstacle,” Grant wrote on his Twitter page on Tuesday. “I WILL OVERCOME!!!”
The Dolphins signed Grant to a four-year extension worth $19.7 million during this past offseason.
He’s slated to earn $3,780,000 next season, and that salary becomes fully guaranteed if he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the league’s new year.
The Dolphins will likely have cornerback Marcus Sherels, a return specialist who was signed earlier this month, handle kickoffs and punts the rest of the season.
Sherels had already been filling in as Miami’s primary punt returner after Preston Williams suffered his season-ending knee injury.
The Dolphins had to finish out Sunday’s game against Cleveland with DeVante Parker and Allen Hurns as the only two receivers, and used a steady diet of two tight-end packages and schemes that featured tailbacks lining up out wide on the line of scrimmage.
“I think it’s going to have to be, again, by committee,” offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea said on Tuesday when addressing Grant and Wilson’s injuries. “We’re going to have to really do a good job of getting some offense and some production from other positions other than the receiver position because right now, there’s a potential of maybe being down one less guy or the other.”
Ford, a former Virginia Tech standout the Dolphins selected in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, has spent the past three seasons on injured reserve or bouncing back and forth from the practice squad and active roster. This season, the Jacksonville native has caught two passes for nine yards. He’s played in four games the past two seasons.
“Isaiah’s greatest strength is his ability to function mentally, and his position flexibility that he has for us offensively,” O’Shea said of Ford, who spent training camp being groomed to play the slot receiver role. “We can plug him in anywhere and feel very confident that he’s going to know what to do.”
Cleveland’s Chad Thomas tackles Dolphins receiver Albert Wilson on Sunday.