The Week 17 Dolphins-Bills Inactives and What It Means

The Miami Dolphins will have two key players back in the lineup for their win-and-in Week 17 game against the Buffalo Bills, with wide receiver DeVante Parker and edge defender Shaq Lawson both active.

The Dolphins also will get rookie guard Solomon Kindley back after he missed the game against the Las Vegas Raiders with a knee injury.

Wide receiver Jakeem Grant, who was the fourth player listed as questionable Friday, will be inactive.

The return of Parker obviously is big for the Dolphins, who need a victory against the Bills to make the playoffs or have to count on either the Browns, Ravens or Colts to lose as heavy favorites Sunday.

Parker's return will give rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa the top weapon in the passing game and provide an enticing option to complement tight end Mike Gesicki.

With Grant out, the question will be who will serve as the punt returner, with the two logical options being rookie Malcolm Perry or rookie Lynn Bowden Jr.

The Dolphins also made inactive quarterback Jake Rudock, meaning that practice squad elevation Reid Sinnett will serve as Tagovailoa's backup against the Bills.

This has to be considered somewhat of a surprise because Sinnett is a rookie, while Rudock first came into the NFL in 2017 (even though he's only thrown five regular season passes).

The other Dolphins inactives are RB DeAndre Washington, T Adam Pankey, WR Kirk Merritt, DT Benito Jones and LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, who didn't travel to Buffalo and was ruled out Saturday because of a non-COVID-related illness.

The Dolphins chose to go with Marcus Kemp over Merritt among two wide receivers elevated from the practice squad this week.

For the Bills, the big news is that quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs both will be active, though it's still undetermined how much either will play.

The Bills will sit a couple of front-line defensive line starters: defensive end Jerry Hughes and cornerback Tre'Davious White. The other Buffalo inactives are QB Jake Fromm, RB Taiwan Jones, T Ty Nsekeh, DE Mario Addison and injured players WR Cole Beasley (knee) and TE Reggie Gilliam (knee/hamstring).

Buffalo will have wide receiver John Brown back in the lineup for the first time since Week 10. He has been a Dolphins-killer over the past two seasons, with four touchdowns in three games, including a 46-yard reception in Week 2.