Dolphins First 2021 Week 3 Injury Report ... And What It Means
There was no great secret when it comes to the biggest news from the first Miami Dolphins injury report of Week 3 because head coach Brian Flores already had alerted the media that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would not play against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
So obviously Tagovailoa did not participate in practice, as confirmed by the injury report.
The other two players injured in the 35-0 loss against Buffalo on Sunday — offensive lineman Jesse Davis and wide receiver Jakeem Grant — did practice, albeit both on a limited basis.
The situation involving Davis is one to watch given the issues on the offensive line and the possibility of lineup changes up front, which Flores confirmed Monday and repeated Wednesday was realistic.
Davis started the first two games at right tackle, but didn't play in the second half of the loss against Buffalo because of a knee issue.
If it turns out that Davis can't play against Las Vegas, the logical assumption is that rookie second-round pick Liam Eichenberg would slide into that spot. But it's also not impossible that Eichenberg could start at right tackle regardless and that the Dolphins could decide to slide Davis inside to left guard, where he has prior starting experience.
Or it could be that the Dolphins simply insert Eichenberg at left guard, where he took practice reps during training camp after playing left tackle at Notre Dame.
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As for Grant, the issue if he can't play would be who would replace him as the kick returner, though logic would suggest that job would fall to rookie first-round pick Jaylen Waddle, though Waddle did lose a fumble when he was used in that role late in the first half against Buffalo.
The Dolphins' first injury report of Week 3 also included three players listed as full participants, including wide receiver Preston Williams, who made his season debut against Buffalo while playing in his first game since sustaining a major foot injury last November.
Williams was listed as questionable last Friday because of foot/knee issues, but the only injury listed for him Wednesday was the foot.
The other players on the injury report were WR DeVante Parker (shoulder) and DE Emmanuel Ogbah (groin).
The Raiders had exactly twice as many players (12) on their injury report as the Dolphins and four of them did not participate in practice, but starting quarterback Derek Carr (ankle) was listed as a full participant.
The four players who sat out practice included former Dolphins guard Richie Incognito (calf) and starting running back Josh Jacobs (ankle), along with safeties Dallin Leavitt (concussion) and Roderic Teamer (ankle).
The players listed as limited participants included two defensive ends, Yannick Ngakoue (hamstring) and Carl Nassib (pectoral/toe), along with LB Nick Kwiatkoski (concussion) and DT Darius Philon (knee).
