Miami Dolphins Week 16 Inactives and What It Means

The Miami Dolphins will get tight end Mike Gesicki and wide receiver Jakeem Grant back against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night, but they again will be without DeVante Parker.

Parker was among the five Dolphins players ruled inactive for the nationally televised prime-time game at Allegiant Stadium.

Gesicki and Grant both will be back after missing the game against the New England Patriots because of shoulder and hamstring injuries, respectively.

That Gesicki would be active kind of became clear when the Dolphins neglected to elevate tight end Chris Myarick from the practice squad prior to the 4 p.m. ET deadline Friday.

With Grant back, the Dolphins will have five wide receivers in the lineup, the others being Lynn Bowden Jr., Mack Hollins, Malcolm Perry and Isaiah Ford, who was elevated from the practice squad Tuesday.

The return of Grant certainly will help in the return game and there's certainly a chance he could wind up in the starting lineup, either in a two- or three-tight end set or opposite Bowden.

The absence of Parker, who sustained a hamstring injury against Kansas City two Sundays ago, obviously takes away Parker's most dangerous weapon outside.

The other Dolphins player listed as questionable Thursday will be active, and that's starting left guard Ereck Flowers.

After missing the past two games with an ankle injury, Flowers will resume his spot as the starting left guard along a Dolphins front of Austin Jackson, Ted Karras, Jesse Davis and Robert Hunt.

The list of inactives includes guard Solomon Kindley, who sustained a knee injury in the third quarter of the game against New England and was ruled out Thursday, and edge defender Shaq Lawson, who was downgraded to out Friday and did not accompany the team to Las Vegas.

The other inactives will be fullback Chandler Cox and running back DeAndre Washington, who played four seasons for the Raiders after being a fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft.

The Dolphins still will have four running backs active, including Myles Gaskin, who's back from the COVID-19 list. The others are Patrick Laird, Matt Breida and Salvon Ahmed, fresh off his 122-yard performance against New England.

For the Raiders, quarterback Derek Carr will be active, as expected, given that he did not get a game status designation Thursday.

Coach Jon Gruden was non-committal about Carr's status for the game even after practice Thursday, but the expectation is that he'll start.

The list of Raiders inactives is headed by defensive end Clelin Ferrell, the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft and Christian Wilkins' teammate at Clemson.

Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, who was listed as questionable with a calf injury, will be active.

The other Raiders inactives will QB Nathan Peterman, CB Amik Robertson, RB Theo Riddick, T Brandon Parker and DE Chris Smith.