Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Several starters could see limited reps
There may be a few Miami Dolphins players who play every snap of the season opener.
It’s also fair to assume some of those players may not be leading receiver DeVante Parker, the team’s No. 2 receiver Preston Williams, starting cornerback Xavien Howard or three other potential starters as the Dolphins have some lingering injury concerns before Sunday’s game at New England.
“Given no preseason, no one has played a football game in a long time. It’s hard to think somebody can jump out there and play 60, 70, 80 snaps,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said of the matter on Wednesday.
“There will be a handful of guys who we will expect to go the whole way. But for the most part, we are thinking along the lines of somebody is probably going to need a blow here. I think every team has that same thought process.”
Flores did not want to consider it “load management” or any kind of hard-lined term when it comes to the availability of players like Parker, Williams, Howard and others who appeared on the team’s initial injury report Wednesday.
Parker practiced for the second time this week on Wednesday after missing the final two weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury.
If Parker is somewhat limited in the opener, the Dolphins could rely on Williams, the team’s leading receiver before his season ended last year due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Williams, although limited in Wednesday’s practice, believes his knee is close to 100 percent and is willing to play as much as the Dolphins will allow him on Sunday.
Howard, who led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2018, participated in all of the team’s drills at the start of Wednesday’s practice. He is still working his way into playing shape after offseason knee surgery of his own last December.
The Dolphins also listed tight end Mike Gesicki (glute), cornerback Byron Jones (Achilles), and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (right hand) as limited participants in Wednesday’s practice.
“All of those guys are working, they are trying to get back as soon as they can, and hopefully we have them out there for as many plays as we need them on Sunday,” Flores said.
■ Another encouraging sign: Rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who will sit behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and continues to progress from his November hip injury, was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice.
In a conference call with Patriots media, Flores put Tagovialoa’s first NFL training camp into perspective.
“I think we’re in practice 15 or 16 here, which would be practice three or four of training camp if we had OTAs and minicamp …. because of circumstances, he didn’t get as many reps as quarterbacks in other years,” Flores said Wednesday.
“In a lot of instances, Tua and this entire rookie class have gotten less practice, less reps, less live action than any rookie class in league history from what I understand.
“So that’s him, but all of our guys have worked extremely hard.
I think they’ve improved a lot over the course of training camp. … Tua is right there, close to the top of our group. I’ve been very pleased with him.”
■ Jones and Van Noy indicated the Dolphins may have a social justice demonstration planned for the opener in New England.
“Our team has something coming,” said Jones, who did not say whether he or teammates would kneel during the national anthem. “We’re still in discussions about what we’re going to do.”
Added Van Noy: “We want to do the right thing as a team that everyone agrees with.”
■ Flores indicated the Dolphins will hold a scrimmage or walkthrough game of sorts on Thursday night, in preparation for the Patriots.