Dolphins receiving corps returning to good health

MIAMI GARDENS — It’s starting to look like the Miami Dolphins’ receiving corps, with key cogs sidelined during much of training camp, is getting back to full health as the regular season inches closer.

Deep threat and free-agent acquisition Will Fuller remains suspended for the opener, but the injury that has hampered Miami Dolphins wide receiver Albert Wilson for the past three weeks appears to be behind him.

“Feel great,” Wilson said on Thursday after completing a second consecutive day of drills and appearing to run well in routes and catching balls from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. “We ready to go from here on out.”

Wilson’s return also coincides with DeVante Parker participating in a third consecutive practice without the red, non-contact jersey he has worn so often throughout camp. Wilson put together such a strong early portion of camp that there was no question he would make the team as part of this year’s deeper corps, even after missing the three preseason games after opting out of the 2020 season because of COVID.

“I just knew, if I had the opportunity to make this team, I was going to make this team,” said Wilson, the dynamic 5-9,

195-pound slot receiver. “I got a lot of confidence in myself. The year off helped me build myself mentally and physically, so I just knew, if I had the opportunity, it was a done deal.”

Wilson didn’t miss a stride after opting out of last season because he said he kept his training the way it would’ve been if he remained with the Dolphins.

“The same schedule I’ve been on, I pretty much stayed on that same schedule,” Wilson said. “When I knew we had a bye week, I’d take a week off. I knew, when the guys were in the building, I was going in the facility and training. Just kind of trying to stay in the mindset.

“But to step away from the game and kind of think about other things made me realize how much I do love football and how much I do love playing for the Dolphins. Getting back, I wanted to show everybody how much I love this game, how much I love the team.”

The training camp Wilson had, along with impressive performances in organized team activities and minicamp over the summer, have tight end Mike Gesicki expecting Wilson to return to the production he showed in 2018 when he had 26 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns in just seven games.

“The speed and the ability to make plays downfield,” Gesicki said, “but also catch-and-run stuff, similar to how he was back in 2018 when you saw that burst that he had prior to him coming back. … You can tell that he’s kind of invested in himself and has been working extremely hard for this opportunity.”

Wilson also said his recent weeks away from the team won’t adversely affect his ability after spending his time productively in team facilities and participating in walkthroughs. At various practices, he was seen exercising on the side, oftentimes on a stationary bike.

Now, he’s ready to contribute to an offense that can utilize his speed with that of Jaylen Waddle in various ways both downfield and underneath, along with Fuller stretching the field when he returns and Parker on the outside.

“I feel like the coaches can do a lot with it, stretching the field, vertically and horizontally,” Wilson said. “I feel like that puts a lot of pressure on defenses. I think that’s why they went out and got these guys, so we can have that advantage on offense.”

Fuller is still serving the final game of his six-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs from the end of the 2020 season with the Houston Texans. Wilson warns opponents of what the offense is capable of when he joins the rest of the group following the Sept. 12 opener at New England.

“They’re going to be in trouble if they keep letting him rest like that,” Wilson said. “That guy’s special. He’s got a lot of speed. He stretches the field vertically. Dude does the right things. When we get him back, we’re definitely going to take another step forward with the offense.”

But all the expectations for Miami’s new deep receiving corps and offensive versatility is just that until it actually materializes in games that count.

“It’s all talk until it’s done,” Wilson said. “For us to get out there as a unit and have everybody back and just go out there and compete against another team, we’re very excited for that to happen.”