MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jaylen Waddle, the Miami Dolphins‘ dynamic third-year wide receiver, has not practiced since hurting his midsection two weeks ago.
The Dolphins must hope he’s halfway through his recovery from what doesn’t appear to be a super-significant injury. Because the regular season starts in 19 days, and the Dolphins want to see how he responds in practice before putting him in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 10.
Miami Dolphins RB Jaylen Waddle Injury Update
Dolphins wide receivers coach Wes Welker on Tuesday provided an update on Waddle, who didn’t practice Tuesday but looked relatively agile while doing rehab.
PFN asked Welker how much he needs to see of Waddle to be comfortable playing him in the opener — and if a return to the practice the week of the Chargers game would be enough.
Here was Welker’s response in full:
“You know, it’s not ideal, but you know, Jaylen’s [been] in this offense, it’s his second year now. He got a lot of reps this spring and everything. So, you know, I feel like he’s pretty dialed in, you know, especially being a young player.
“You would like him to get some of those reps before our Week 1 and everything. But at the same time, you know, he knows it and, you know, and everything like that. So I’m not too worried about it. It’s more about his health and making sure that he’s ready to go and ready to sustain for the whole year.”
Translation: The Dolphins would love to have him in Week 1, but they absolutely need him in Week 18 (and hopefully beyond).
With all due respect to Cedrick Wilson Jr., Braxton Berrios, Robbie Chosen, and Erik Ezukanma, they’re not Jaylen Waddle.
The ultimate slot receiver Wes Welker on Braxton Berrios as a slot receiver pic.twitter.com/Q3oBB49noQ
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley)
And to beat the best teams in the AFC, the Dolphins need both Waddle and Tyreek Hill to be at their best.
So in the short term at least, Miami will have to rely on at least one, and probably two of those four aforementioned players, who have battled all camp for the WR3 spot.
“I think everybody is still competing, and Braxton has done a heck of a job and done some really good things as far as getting in and out of breaks and understanding the route concepts and everything like that,” Welker said.
“So, you know, it’s still an open competition. We’re still trying to figure it out. We still have a week left to evaluate and see, you know, who shows up on a consistent basis. But I feel like a lot of guys are doing a lot of great things and, and kind of see how that plays out.”