With the Miami Dolphins looking to get a bounce-back win after losing to the New England Patriots, they will be a little short-handed on the field in a key division game. The Dolphins have been on the rise since Dan Campbell took over as head coach and that could continue, but without a few familiar faces as DeVante Parker and Jay Ajayi are not expected to play.
Parker has been an interesting story this season. After getting drafted in the first round, the wide receiver suffered a foot injury in rookie minicamp that caused him to miss the entire preseason and the start of the season. However, even when he has been reportedly healthy, he still has only seen a handful of production. That could be because Parker is not actually healthy. According to Alex Marvez, Parker will be out in Week 9 as he deals with scar tissue related to his foot injury.
Parker has not been at practice this week. He stressed that the scar tissue was not a big deal and would not be a lingering issue, but it is bad enough to keep him out of the mix against the Buffalo Bills. Parker has just 49 yards off four catches which is not what the Dolphins were expecting from the top draft pick. Campbell made it clear that with Jarvis Landry, Rishard Matthews and Kenny Stills playing well, he felt no pressure to play Parker.
"We all know what kind of player he is capable of being just by the talent level that he has, and we're just trying to get him to become the football player that we believe he can be. I mentioned this last week --he's a flash player right now. As soon as those flashes start showing up a lot more often, that's when you feel good about getting him on the field," Campbell said, via ESPN.com.
Rookie Ajayi is also not expected to play. He has not been seen yet this season after suffering a rib injury in the preseason finale. Ajayi did return to practice this week, but according to the Palm Beach Post, he is not ready to be active just yet. The Dolphins would love to get the rookie running in tandem with Lamar Miller, but for now they will keep with Jonas Gray as the backup.
"We have basically another week or over until we have to absolutely make a decision," Campbell said, via the Palm Beach Post. "But at this point we can if we would like to activate him this week. He will be eligible to do that. We don't want to do it right now until we know for sure."
Ryan Tannehill is hoping to have another big game going up against the Bills. Stills, Landry and Miller will be big for the quarterback as they look to keep pace in the division.
