Receiving corps has two in protocol

Status on Parker, Wilson unclear leading into Sunday

DAVIE — Miami Dolphins receivers DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson are indeed in the NFL’s concussion protocol after both made early exits in the second quarter of Sunday’s 22-21 loss to the New York Jets.

Parker and Wilson will likely remain in the protocol leading up to the Dolphins’ return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday, when they take on the New York Giants.

Parker was first sidelined when he went up to catch a 21-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick early in the second quarter and was driven down hard by Jets cornerback Blessuan Austin, causing Parker’s head to collide with the ground.

Parker leads the Dolphins with 55 receptions for 882 yards and six touchdowns. The yardage and touchdowns are both career highs for Parker, who is having his best NFL season.

Wilson went into the locker room later in the first half to be evaluated. He took multiple hits, most notably one from Jets linebacker James Burgess Jr., a

Homestead High product before attending Louisville, that was flagged for unnecessary roughness. Wilson finished with one catch for 5 yards.

Without Parker and Wilson, Isaiah Ford finished with a career-high six receptions for 92 yards on a team-high nine targets. Miami Hurricanes alum Allen Hurns was targeted eight times, resulting in five catches for 68 yards. The Dolphins offense, through six trips to the red zone, was kept out of the end zone, doing all its scoring on seven Jason Sanders field goals.

“Two receivers went down, other guys stepped up,” coach Brian Flores said on Monday. Flores added that Hurns was “dinged” and fought through it. “We didn’t play well in the red zone, but the offense moved the ball efficiently, got ourselves into scoring position, we kicked the field goals and we were in it at the end.”

Ford, a 2017 seventhround pick out of Virginia Tech who has bounced back and forth from the Dolphins’ active roster and practice squad, was thrust into a career-high 55 snaps.

His success was a byproduct of remaining mentally prepared.

“I didn’t really have time to kind of think about it. It kind of happened really fast,” Ford said. “I knew I would get some snaps in the game, didn’t know it was going to be that many. As it happened, just kind of took it all in and tried to make the most of it.”

Ford said the team needed to have more positive plays on first and second downs in the red zone to be in manageable thirddown situations to convert those trips into touchdowns instead of field goals.

Starting defensive end Taco Charlton, the team’s leader in sacks (five), was inactive and a surprise healthy scratch on Sunday.

“Really more game plan than anything,” Flores said. “Felt like we needed to go with some other guys, just from a gameplan standpoint, but he was healthy and hopefully we get him going this week.”

Flores said there haven’t been any red flags with Charlton in practice.

“Taco’s been great,” Flores said. “He’s done a great job, really across the board. He’s had some production from a sack standpoint. We just felt like [Sunday] we were better off going with the other guys.”

Another surprise starting lineup change was made with rookie left guard Michael Deiter, who had started the first 12 games of his NFL career. Undrafted rookie from Texas A&M Keaton Sutherland started over Deiter, who played in the second half off the bench against the Jets.

“I don’t like to look at it as one position. The Oline is a group of guys and the offense is 11 guys playing together,” Flores said in evaluating how Deiter and Sutherland played. “I though Sutherland had some good plays, some bad plays.”

Flores felt Deiter, the Dolphins’ 2019 thirdround draft pick out of Wisconsin, handled the situation well.

“Deiter, he’s a team guy,” Flores said. “Whatever we feel is best for the team, he’ll jump in and do.”

Rookie outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, also out of Wisconsin, received an uptick in snaps on Sunday and recorded his first-career sack, one that put the Jets in the third-and-18 situation late before the pass interference call that set New York up for Sam Ficken’s winning 44-yard field goal.

“I think he’s improved each week,” Flores said. “This is a guy who works extremely hard, really earned those snaps over the last few weeks.”