The Five Biggest Dolphins Stories of the Week
As we approach game day and the Miami Dolphins Week 5 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, let's take a quick look back at the top stories that dominated the headlines during the week:
1. Grant Gone to Chicago
Two days after losing a fumble after muffing a punt, Jakeem Grant was traded to the Chicago Bears, ended his five-year-plus tenure with the Dolphins. After arriving as a 2016 sixth-round pick, Grant proceeded to become perhaps the greatest return in franchise history, though he always frustrated a portion of Dolphins fans with his ball security issues.
2. Fuller Lands on IR
Wide receiver Will Fuller V came to the Dolphins this offseason with the reputation as a speedy playmaker but also someone who's had trouble avoiding injuries, and the latter is unfortunately what's dominated in time in Miami so far (even more so than his leave of absence to deal with a personal matter). In his two games this season, Fuller suffered two injuries and the latest one — a broken finger against the Colts in Week 4 — landed him on injured reserve, which will keep him out of the lineup until at least Week 7.
3. Raekwon Returns
The Dolphins defense got some much-needed good news this week when defensive tackle Raekwon Davis returned to practice following his stint on IR with a knee injury. Things went well enough in practice for Davis during the week that he was activated from injured reserve Saturday, in time to play against Tampa Bay.
4. New Center Arrives
The other roster move of the week involved a potential significant pick-up off the New Orleans Saints practice squad, that of center Austin Reiter. He joined the Dolphins after starting the past two seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs and appearing in two Super Bowls. If nothing else, he provides additional depth at center, and could even find himself starting at some point depending on how long Michael Deiter will continue to be out with his injury.
5. The Big Scare in the Secondary
This turned out to be nothing of significance in the final analysis, but the last thing the Dolphins or their fans wanted to see in the week leading up to facing Tom Brady and the high-powered Tampa Bay passing game was the name of both Xavien Howard and Byron Jones showing up on in the injury report, with Jones not practice Wednesday and being limited Thursday and Howard being limited the second day. It worked out in the end, though, because both ended up with no game status designation for the Tampa Bay game, an indication both will be ready to go.
