Fins starters to play vs. Jaguars, injury updates on Grant, Sheffield & Waller

Miami Herald

4 hours ago

The Miami Dolphins starters will play in Saturday's game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, per coach Mike McDaniel.
Although McDaniel wouldn't share how long he plans to play his first team, he wanted them to get some run in order to 'get the last juice jitterbugs out.'
'The length of that will be determined by today's practice,' McDaniel said Thursday.
Ahead of Saturday's final preseason matchup, the Dolphins will host the Jaguars Thursday for their last joint practice of training camp. The Dolphins, however, will be without a host of players, including 2025 first-round pick Kenneth Grant who McDaniel considered 'day-to-day.'
Grant missed practice Wednesday for an unknown reason. Although McDaniel wouldn't share the particular injury, he wasn't necessarily concerned about the 21-year-old defensive tackle.
For the 'toughest of competitors it would hold back,' McDaniel said of the rookie's injury, 'but it's not something we're worried about.'
As far tight end Darren Waller is concerned, McDaniel continued to urge patience amid the one-time Pro Bowler's return from retirement.
'I think we're looking froward to him growing in our offense readily and pretty quickly because I've watched him attack the time since he's been back,' McDaniel said, adding that he will keep his Week 1 status 'open.'
This comes a day after Waller was activated off of the physically unable to perform list. Although the 32-year-old appeared at Wednesday's practice, all he did was stretch. McDaniel emphasized that Waller will be more available in Thursday's joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
'He's done a great job and you'll see more of him today,' McDaniel said.
Another blow to an already decimated cornerback unit occurred Wednesday when Kendall Sheffied didn't practice. McDaniel ruled out the seven-year veteran for Thursday's joint practice as he's dealing with a 'soft tissue injury,' adding that he'll be out several days to a week. 'It's right in that middle ground,' McDaniel said of Sheffield's timeline.
With the late-June trade of three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the unit already lacked experience. Subsequent season-ending injuries to Kader Kohou and Artie Burns then cut the group by two. And with Ethan Bonner dealing with a hamstring injury that he sustained in Saturday's game versus the Detroit Lions, the young collection of corners have an opportunity to further make a name for themselves.
The addition of four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Matthew Judon, however, is believed to take some pressure off of corners. Judon joined what's widely considered the team's deepest unit with Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and Chop Robinson. When asked why the Dolphins signed Judon despite that position's depth, McDaniel 'because he's a dawg,' piggybacking on how the nine-year veteran introduced himself to the media.
McDaniel admitted that position presents some of the toughest 53-man roster decisions because of all the young pass rushers who had played and practiced well, but he pointed out Judon's addition led to their best performance of the summer.
'Everybody benefits from increased competition. When you visit with someone that unequivocally makes clear that I was out this offseason and I want nothing to do with that, I want to be part of a team,' McDaniel on Judon.