Dolphins Monday Notebook: COVID Update, Game Time, Schedule Info, More
The Miami Dolphins' COVID-19 list is down to two players.
The team announced Monday it had activated wide receiver Preston Williams and defensive tackle John Jenkins off the Reserve/COVID-19 list, while guard Durval Queiroz Neto and center Spencer Pulley were removed off the list and put them back on the practice squad.
The moves left only cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and safety Sheldrick Redwine on the COVID-19 list, a nice development considering the list reached double digits not too long ago.
GAME TIME
For the first time since 2017, the Dolphins' regular season will end with a late Sunday afternoon game.
The NFL announced late Sunday night the dates and times for the Week 18 matchups, and the Dolphins home game against the New England Patriots was among those put in the 4:25 p.m. window.
The game will be played at the same time as the Buffalo Bills' home game against the New York Jets, with those two games deciding the AFC East title. Buffalo will take the division title with a win or a Patriots loss.
The Dolphins played at 1 p.m. the past three finales after their 4:25 p.m. home game against Buffalo in 2017, which the Bills won 22-16 before they watched in the postgame locker room the Cincinnati Bengals defeat Baltimore to put Buffalo in the playoffs.
2022 SCHEDULE UPDATE
Now that the Dolphins are assured of finishing third in the AFC East after their loss at Tennessee on Sunday, two more pieces of the puzzle have been put in place when it comes to their 2022 opponents and we're down to one TBD.
The two latest opponents determined are the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans.
The Dolphins will travel to Levi's Stadium next year for their "17th game" after both teams became assured of finishing third in their division. The game should give Miami its first look at quarterback Trey Lance, who the 49ers gave the Dolphins two extra first-round picks to move up from 12th to third in the 2021 NFL draft to select.
The AFC East is matched up with the NFC West for that extra game next year after the New York Giants visited Miami this year.
Houston will be coming to Miami as the third-place AFC South team.
The last game to be determined will have the Dolphins traveling to face the third-place finisher in the AFC West, which will be the loser of the win-and-in showdown between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
2022 DOLPHINS OPPONENTS
Home
Buffalo
New England
N.Y. Jets
Houston
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Green Bay
Minnesota
AWAY
Buffalo
New England
N.Y. Jets
Las Vegas or L.A. Chargers
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Chicago
Detroit
San Francisco
ENDING ON A WINNING NOTE
This might not mean much in the final analysis, but a victory against the Patriots on Sunday would help the Dolphins finish the season with a winning record at 9-8.
Incredibly, it would mark the first time the Dolphins would have consecutive winning seasons in almost 20 years. The Dolphins finished with a winning record seven consecutive seasons from 1997-2003.
THIS AND THAT
-- Wide receiver Kirk Merritt, center Cameron Tom and cornerback Chris Milton all reverted to the Dolphins practice squad after being elevated for the game against Tennessee.
-- Veteran offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, who signed with the Dolphins in the offseason before landing on injured reserve and then being waived, was released from the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad.
