Dolphins To Place WR Albert Wilson On IR
Albert Wilson‘s season is over. The Dolphins are set to place the wideout on the injured reserve, reports ProFootballTalk.com (via Twitter). The Dolphins have already designated offensive lineman Jake Brendel and linebacker Mike Hull to return from the IR, meaning the 26-year-old receiver will sit out the rest of the season.
Wilson suffered a “significant” hip injury on Sunday, but there was some optimism that the receiver would only have to miss a few weeks. We later heard that the wideout was dealing with a labral issue, and the injury was apparently severe enough to land him on the injured reserve. Fortunately for Wilson, he won’t need to undergo surgery (via ProFootballTalk.com), although that’s the only bright spot in an otherwise disappointing end to his season.
After spending four seasons with the Chiefs, Wilson inked a three-year, $24MM deal with Miami during the offseason. He was en route to a career year, having hauled in 26 receptions for 391 yards and four touchdowns through seven games (three starts). Wilson, who has handled two touchdown receptions of at least 70 yards, also tossed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jakeem Grant against the Raiders earlier this year.
The Dolphins were struggling with injuries to their wideouts, as Kenny Stills has already been ruled out for Thursday’s game against Houston. Danny Amendola and Jakeem Grant will likely take on a bigger role in the offense. DeVante Parker, whose agent ripped the Dolphins on Sunday, could also be more involved once his injury issues are resolved.
Latest On Dolphins, DeVante Parker
Over the weekend, DeVante Parker‘s agent lashed out at the Dolphins and accused coach Adam Gase of lying about his client’s health. Now, the wide receiver is distancing himself from his agent’s comments, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. 
Parker claims that he did not know Jimmy Gould would make those remarks, which included accusations of “incompetence.” For his part, Parker says that he has a good relationship with Gase, and doesn’t believe that things will be awkward between them.
With the trade deadline roughly one week away, Parker will be a name to monitor. Before the Cowboys shipped a first-round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper, they were reportedly “monitoring” the 25-year-old receiver. The Dolphins are said to be seeking for a third round pick to part with Parker, though Gould’s comments could compel the Fins to lower their asking price.
On the flipside, the Dolphins may have reason to keep Parker in the wake of injuries to Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills. It’s admittedly hard to see the Dolphins eagerly moving forward with Parker, but they might not have much of a choice if Stills and Wilson are in for extended absences.
Dolphins WR Kenny Stills To Miss Week 8
Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills suffered a groin strain in Week 7 and is likely to miss Thursday night’s game against the Texans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Stills will undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of his injury.
Miami can ill-afford to lose another wideout, as Albert Wilson is expected to miss multiple weeks after injuring his hip against the Lions. Wilson, for his part, will visit a specialist in order to get a timeline on his labrum issue, tweets Rapoport, but agent Drew Rosenhaus has already called a multi-week absence the “best case scenario” for Wilson, and he could potentially miss the rest of the season.
Stills will, in fact, miss Week 8, Adam Gase said Monday.
With Stills and Wilson sidelined, the Dolphins are down to just three receivers: Danny Amendola, Jakeem Grant, and DeVante Parker, the latter of whom was inactive with a nagging injury on Sunday. Parker’s agent has since lashed out at the Dolphins and head coach Adam Gase for their handling of Parker, and the former first-round pick has also been involved in trade rumors. But Miami’s dire situation at receiver may force the club to deploy Parker as a starter on Thursday night. Pass-catchers Leonte Carroo, Malcolm Lewis, Isaiah Ford, all of of whom are currently on on the Dolphins’ practice squad, are candidates for promotion.
Stills, 26, has started all seven games for the Dolphins this season while playing nearly 90% of the team’s offensive snaps. In that time, he’s compiled 16 receptions for 281 yards and four touchdowns, and ranks 10th among NFL wideouts in yards per catch with 17.6 (minimum 20 targets).
Dolphins WR Albert Wilson To Miss Time
Dolphins wideout Albert Wilson suffered a hip injury Sunday that is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wilson will undergo further testing on Monday, but agent Drew Rosenhaus says a multi-week absence is a “best-case scenario,” according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds Wilson is dealing with a labral issue that could knock him out for the rest of the season.
Wilson, 26, inked a three-year, $24MM with Miami earlier this year, coming over from the Chiefs after four seasons in Kansas City. Through seven games, Wilson has posted 26 receptions on 35 targets, managing 391 yards and four touchdowns in total. Wilson, who has handled two touchdown receptions of at least 70 yards, also tossed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jakeem Grant against the Raiders earlier this year.
The Dolphins have already been forced to turn to backup quarterback Brock Osweiler while Ryan Tannehill deals with injury, and they’ll now need to dip into their wide receiver depth while Wilson is sidelined. Kenny Stills and Danny Amendola are already playing more than 80% of offensive snaps, but Grant (44%) could now see an increase in playing time. DeVante Parker, whose agent ripped the Dolphins on Sunday, could conceivably be more involved once his injury issues are resolved.
Tannehill Injury Remains A Mystery
- “The Dolphins are in wait-and-see mode on QB Ryan Tannehill, whose complex shoulder issues limit his range of motion”, Rapoport tweets. Tannehill has now missed two straight games with a mysterious shoulder injury, and his return date is an open question at this point. The Dolphins have a short week before they take on the Texans in a Thursday night game, and Rapoport adds that it’s “hard to see him playing Thursday night.”
Latest On DeVante Parker, Dolphins
There’s been a lot of talk surrounding DeVante Parker recently. The former first round pick has seemingly fallen out of favor with the Dolphins’ coaching staff, leaving him with a reduced role for the very limited time that he’s been healthy. Naturally, his name has come up in trade rumors, as the fourth-year wideout still has a ton of talent.
Now there’s a lot of drama, as Parker’s agent is lashing out publicly at the team. Parker was inactive for the team’s game today, which Dolphins coach Adam Gase claimed was due to a nagging injury. Parkers agent insists that isn’t true, and that his client is fully healthy, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter links). It’s pretty shocking for an agent to criticize a coach this forcefully as Parker’s agent, Jimmy Gould, repeatedly called Gase a liar and incompetent in his statement. Jackson does tweet that Parker’s agent is not demanding a trade or his release at this time.
That being said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he isn’t a Dolphin for long. He’s been connected to a few receiver-needy teams recently, and there was a report earlier today that the Cowboys were “monitoring” Parker in their search for receiver help. Also earlier today, it was reported that the Dolphins were asking for a third round pick to part with the Louisville product.
Parker has always flashed a lot of promise, but has never been able to put it all together and his tenure in Miami has been a bit snake-bitten. He’s seemingly always hurt, and has never been able to consistently produce when on the field. The one thing that might make him stick with the Dolphins for now is that Miami suffered a pair of injuries to receivers today, with Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills both going down with injuries.
Eagles, Cowboys Among Teams Interested In DeVante Parker
- In addition to Cooper, the Cowboys are monitoring Dolphins WR DeVante Parker and Bills WR Kelvin Benjamin, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Eagles have also spoken to Miami about Parker, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
Dolphins Seeking Third-Rounder For WR DeVante Parker
It sounds like the Dolphins are still willing to trade wideout DeVante Parker, but it would cost a lot to get him. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the organization has told inquiring teams that it would take at least a third-round pick to acquire the former first-rounder.
That seems to be a pretty lofty asking price, perhaps indicating that the Dolphins aren’t all that serious about moving the 25-year-old. Indeed, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that the Dolphins are not actively shopping Parker, and that all trade talks have started with other clubs. Salguero does acknowledge that Parker remains available, but Miami is perfectly content to keep him if no one presents a good enough offer.
Parker hasn’t shown a whole lot through his first three years in league, with his 2016 performance proving to be a career-year (56 receptions, 744 receiving yards, four touchdowns). He’s struggled to stay on the field in 2018, hauling in only a pair of catches in two games, though Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that Parker’s agent, Jimmy Gould, and the team appear to disagree on Parker’s health status at the moment. Gould has not asked that his client be traded, but he made it clear that Parker is healthy and needs to be playing.
It’s unlikely the Dolphins are going to keep Parker around for $9MM in 2019 (per Jackson on Twitter), meaning interested teams probably won’t give in to Miami’s present demands. While they’re not identical scenarios, the Browns gave away former first-round wideout Corey Coleman for a seventh-rounder. The Browns got a fifth-rounder for a former 1,000-yard receiver (Josh Gordon). The Dolphins even got a fourth- and seventh-rounder for Jarvis Landry. If the Dolphins aren’t willing to lower their demands, the team presumably wasn’t all that intent on moving Parker in the first place.
Rory Parks contributed to this post.
This Date In NFL Transactions History: Dion Jordan Reinstated By NFL
Four years ago today, the NFL reinstated defensive end Dion Jordan from the suspension list. At the time, the Dolphins were expecting the former first-rounder to contribute for the foreseeable future. Little did they know, Jordan would be preparing for his final 10 games in a Dolphins uniform.
The third-overall pick of the 2013 draft had a solid rookie campaign in Miami, finishing the year with 26 tackles, two sacks, and two passes defended. However, prior to his sophomore season, Jordan was slapped with a four-game suspension after violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Several months later, the defensive end was handed another suspension, all leading to him being reinstated four years ago today.
Jordan proceeded to play in the Dolphins final 10 games that year, compiling 20 tackles and a single sack. Unfortunately, things quickly got worse for the Oregon product. Prior to the 2015 season, the NFL found that the defensive end had diluted his test samples. While he didn’t fail a drug test, the diluted sample served as a “third strike,” and Jordan was suspended for the entirety of the 2015 campaign. He was reinstated by the NFL prior to the 2016 season, but he was forced onto the NFI list after recovering from an undisclosed knee surgery. Jordan didn’t play in a single game that season, and he was released by Miami during the 2017 offseason.
It seems like there may be some optimism for Jordan this year. He caught on with the Seahawks in 2017, compiling 18 tackles, four sacks, and one forced fumble in five games. He re-signed this past offseason, but he’s compiled only a pair of tackles through four contests.
When he was reinstated by the NFL in 2014, no one could have envisioned him playing a rotational role elsewhere only four years later. While it certainly hasn’t gone as planned for the 28-year-old, there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Tannehill's Future With The Dolphins In Doubt
While the Dolphins are still confident Ryan Tannehill will return sometime this year, his future with the team beyond 2018 is in doubt, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald. Salguero writes that “Tannehill’s status with the Dolphins for 2019 and beyond is not settled”, and that Tannehill “has not lived up to the stated expectations the Dolphins set for him before the year began.”
Tannehill has been unable to stay healthy the past few seasons, and carries a $26.6MM cap charge for 2019. If he doesn’t light it up whenever he returns, it’s entirely possible Tannehill is no longer a Dolphin after this year. Tannehill’s contract status has mostly flown under-the-radar, but it will be one of the most interesting storylines to monitor this offseason not just for the Dolphins but across the entire league.