Dolphins elevate Cracraft, Coleman for Bills game
The Dolphins on Saturday used their third and final practice squad elevation on wide receiver
River Cracraft, calling him up for Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills.
NFL rules allow practice squad players to be elevated to the game-day roster up to three times each season. If the Dolphins elevate Cracraft again, he must be placed on waivers before being re-signed to the team’s practice squad. Miami, which has an open roster spot, could also sign him to the active roster.
Cracraft caught his first career touchdown in last weekend’s comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens. In two games, Cracraft has played 26 snaps. He has been elevated for the first two games over rookie Erik Ezukanma. Wide receivers coach
Wes Welker said on Thursday that the fourthround pick isn’t ready to play as he works to master multiple positions on offense.
“If we get to that point where he’s lost all that eligibility, then we have to cross that bridge,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Friday. “I don’t get ahead of myself, because that involves his play and that also involves other people’s play. So we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But he’s doing a tremendous job. He’s out there and no one would know, ‘Hey, there’s a flex guy,’ which is a credit to him.”
The Dolphins also elevated offensive tackle Larnel Coleman for the second consecutive game, giving them eight available offensive linemen. Starting left tackle Terron Armstead did not practice this week because of a toe injury. He is listed as questionable to play but is expected to suit up.
Packers-Buccaneers preview: Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will be working without some of their top receivers Sunday when the seven-time Super Bowl winner and four-time
Aspace the floor as an efficient corner threepoint shooter and also effectively guard nearly every position on the court.
The Heat doesn’t seem to have that type of player on its roster following Tucker’s departure. Martin could be as close as it gets as a plus-defender who can guard multiple positions and also shot 41.3 percent from threepoint range last season, but is undersized as a power forward at 6-5 and 205 pounds.
Behind Martin, the
Heat has developmental forwards in Highsmith, Jovic and two-way contract player Darius Days. But Highsmith has appeared in just 24 regularseason games during his NBA career, and Jovic and Days are rookies.
Butler could also play as a small-ball power forward during stretches.
Another option for the Heat is to play two bigs together more often this season as it searches for answers in the frontcourt, especially with three rotation-worthy centers on the roster in Adebayo, Dedmon and Yurtseven.
How will Lowry look entering his 17th season? With last season’s roster essentially returning intact minus Tucker, the Heat needs to depend on internal improvement to take a step forward this season. A more available and healthy Lowry could be part of that internal improvement plan.
Lowry, 36, missed 13 regular-season games last season because of a private family matter. His first postseason as a member of the Heat was then derailed by a strained left hamstring that forced him to sit out eight playoff games before returning as a limited version of himself.
More will be expected from Lowry this season,
AMVP face off.
The injury report released Friday ruled Green Bay’s Sammy Watkins and Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin out for Sunday’s game at Tampa. The Buccaneers already were planning to play without wide receiver Mike Evans, who received a one-game suspension for his role in an on-field brawl during the Bucs’ 20-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
Godwin will be missing as Heat president Pat
Riley said in June that Lowry needs to “be in better shape next year.” Lowry has evidently accepted Riley’s challenge, with various photos circulating on social media from offseason workouts showing a leaner Lowry.
When Lowry was available and healthy last season, he made the Heat a better team. Lowry averaged 13.4 points while shooting 44 percent from the field and 37.7 percent on threes, 4.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.1 steals last regular season, and Miami was also 2.5 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court.
Lowry is due $28.3 million this upcoming season in the second year of a three-year, $85 million contract.
What will the Heat’s rotation look like? Despite having most of last season’s roster back, there are some questions surrounding the Heat’s rotation.
If Herro gets his wish and is moved into the starting lineup, whose spot would he take? Adebayo and Butler are locks to open the season as starters, Lowry is also expected to be a starter and whoever slides in for Tucker as the starting power forward will take another slot.
That leaves Strus as the lone remaining starter from last season’s playoff run who Herro could replace.
This type of change would have a ripple effect on the rest of the Heat’s rotation, with guard Oladipo likely stepping into Herro’s sixth man role.
And is there room for Strus and Robinson in Miami’s bench rotation? Who will be the backup center — Dedmon or Yurtseven?
These are all issues that will be decided during the preseason and then likely continue to evolve
Aa second straight game. Watkins played Sunday night and had three catches for 93 yards in the Packers’ 27-10 triumph over the Chicago Bears.
Other receivers could be missing as well.
Tampa Bay’s Russell Gage (hamstring), Julio Jones (knee) and Breshad Perriman (knee) and Green Bay’s Randall Cobb (illness) and Christian Watson (hamstring) are listed as questionable. Packers tight end Marcedes throughout the regular season.
Will the Heat fill its open roster spot? With 14 players currently signed to standard contracts, the Heat has one open spot on its 15-man roster. But the expectation is Miami will enter the season with 14 players on standard contracts, one shy of the regular-season maximum.
Why?
The Heat has about $150.1 million committed to salaries for this season, with the NBA setting the 2022-23 salary cap at $123.7 million and luxurytax threshold at $150.3 million. That leaves the Heat just about $200,000 away from entering the tax, which does not give Miami enough space to sign a 15th player to a standard contract without becoming a luxury tax team.
Avoiding the luxury tax would again push back the clock on the looming punitive repeater tax (when a team is over the tax at least three times during a four-year period). The last time the Heat finished as a tax team was in the 2019-20 season.
But later this season when the prorated minimum salary is low enough, the Heat could fill that 15th roster spot without becoming a tax team. Or Miami can opt to fill the opening through a trade before then.
While one spot remains open on its regular-season roster, the Heat’s preseason roster is at the maximum of 20 players. That includes two signed to two-way deals in guard Marcus Garrett and Days, which allows for players to be on their NBA team’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games.
AAnthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
Lewis (groin) also is questionable.
Gage, Watson and Cobb didn’t practice Friday. Jones, Perriman and Lewis were limited practice participants.
The Packers did get some good news Friday, as offensive tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) and wide receiver Allen Lazard (ankle) were limited practice participants.
ELSEWHERE
Bills: The agent for Buffalo safety Micah Hyde announced Saturday that the team plans to place the starter on season-ending injured reserve because of a neck injury.
Jack Bechta added in a message posted on Twitter that he expects Hyde to be healthy in returning for next season.
Hyde already had been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Miami. He was carted off the sideline in the second half of Buffalo’s 41-7 win over Tennessee on Monday night.
Ravens: Baltimore offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley has been ruled out of Sunday’s game at
AANew England because of lingering ankle issues.
The Ravens announced Saturday that Stanley would not make the trip with the team. He hasn’t played since the season opener in 2021. Stanley was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday and did not participate Friday.
With Ja’Wuan James on injured reserve with an Achilles tendon injury,
Patrick Mekari is now the likely starter at left tackle for a second straight week.
Titans: Tennessee placed three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan on injured reserve Saturday after he hurt his right knee for the second time in three seasons.
The Titans (0-2) now have 11 players on injured reserve before hosting the Las Vegas Raiders (0-2) on Sunday. They put 26 on injured reserve after the final roster cuts last season and earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a 12-5 record. Now they’re trying to avoid the first 0-3 start since dropping the first six of 2009.
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