Charlton ‘hungrier’ to play after being benched

DAVIE — Taco Charlton’s time with the Miami Dolphins seemed to be going well.

Charlton had a sack in four of his first five games since joining the team in September after clearing waivers following his release by the Dallas Cowboys.

He looked to be a steal for the Dolphins, who have been searching far and wide for players with capable talent during their rebuilding process.

That was until his productivity became hampered in recent weeks, leading to a demotion last Sunday where was inactive and a healthy scratch against the Jets.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham both said sitting Charlton — who leads Miami with five sacks this season — was the best decision for their game plan against the Jets, a game they lost 22-21 on the road.

Charlton, a former first-round pick who hopes to return in this Sunday’s game against the New York Giants (2-11), seems to have taken the wake-up call sent by the Dolphins (3-10) in stride.

“It makes me hungrier. It’s no discouragement at all,” Charlton said on Wednesday.

“It just makes me hungrier to the point where I want to be a player no matter the game plan is, you can’t sit me. That’s the motivation I take from it. I’ve been through this before. It just pushes me to go a little harder.”

After getting the team lead in sacks, Charlton has been largely non-existent on the box scores in the past six games.

He has played in just four of them with one sack, three tackles and one quarterback hit. He missed one game due to an elbow injury before last week’s scratch.

Charlton’s play has also made way for players like Vince Biegel, rookie Andrew Van Ginkel and former first-round pick Charles Harris to play more defensive snaps, too.

“We felt like we just needed to go with some other guys just from a game-plan standpoint,” Flores said earlier this week. “He was healthy and hopefully we’ll get him going this week.”

Charlton says he has not received any indication from the Dolphins about his availability or role in the game plan against the Giants.

He believes he could have made a difference for the Dolphins against the Jets, and hopes to return to the lineup at some point during the final three games this season.

“I hate watching football games, that’s the competitor in me,” Charlton said. “You want to be out there, especially to help the team out, and be able to make some plays to put them over the top. You want to do that as a player on the team and as a playmaker. It was tough for me, but I was able to cheer on my teammates.”