Change Coming at Left Guard
Isaiah Wynn won't be suiting up against his former team Sunday because of a quadriceps injury he suffered in Miami's 31-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Wynn, a former first-round pick and 40-game starter for the New England Patriots, was classified as week-to-week by Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on Monday.
That means the Dolphins will spend the week auditioning left guard replacements for Sunday's home game against the New England Patriots, and there's a chance the entire left side of Miami's offensive line will be filled with backups.
Three starting O-linemen sidelined
Four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead will have to sit out at least one more game because of the left knee injury that got him placed on injured reserve earlier this month. Armstead won't be cleared to come off injured reserve until after Sunday's game against New England.
He'll be eligible to start practicing the week of the Nov. 5 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, which will be played in Germany.
That means Kendall Lamm will be starting his sixth game of the season at left tackle.
Liam Eichenberg, who has experience playing left guard for the Dolphins, might be in the mix to replace Wynn, but that's only if starting center Connor Williams, who has missed three games because of a groin strain, has been cleared to return to action.
Williams practiced on a limited basis last week, but wasn't cleared to play against the Eagles.
The Dolphins are being ultra cautious about his return, trying to prevent the six-year veteran from suffering a second setback of the groin injury, ensuring he's healthy for the second half of the season.
Until Williams is given the green light to play, Eichenberg likely will continue handling the center duties unless Miami is comfortable elevating Alama Uluave, an undrafted rookie, or Chasen Hines, a former Patriots draft pick, from the practice squad to handle the snapping.
Cotton and Jones will compete
If not, that leaves Lester Cotton and Robert Jones as the front-runners to replace Wynn, and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is confident Cotton will perform better than he did against the Eagles with a week of preparation working with the first-team offense.
Cotton struggled against the Eagles, committing a holding penalty that negated a touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill, and he allowed a sack and four pressures.
"Lester is a very accountable person and has come as far as really anybody that we've had on the roster since he joined the team last year. That it's a tough spot to be in to go out there and perform against a front like that," McDaniel said. "I believe in the player and lost zero confidence in him. But he'll be the first one to say that there's some stuff that he would expect to be better at."
Jones, who spent the first month of the season on injured reserve because of an MCL sprain to his right knee, has been cleared to play the past two weeks, but he hasn't gotten in the offensive line mix. Last season Jones started nine games at left guard because of a knee injury Eichenberg suffered.
"Rob has been working his tail off to get in the position that he's in right now to be able to actively play," McDaniel said. "We are fortunate to have depth. ... They'll be their best selves, starting the whole week off with a first-team reps, as opposed to getting them mid-second quarter or whatever it was."
