Final Dolphins-Pats Injury Report: Proctor News Ends Remarkable Streak, Brown Remains a Mystery

Well, it was nice while it lasted for the Miami Dolphins.

Their season-opening streak of games with the same starting offensive line will end at six with the official Friday that rookie first-round pick Kadyn Proctor had been ruled out of the Week 8 game against the New England Patriots because of his concussion.

This pretty much was a foregone conclusion once Proctor sat out practice Wednesday and Thursday, and it became official after he once again was a DNP on Friday.

If it sounds (or looks, as the case may be) like we're exaggerating the significance of the same offensive line starting the first six games, just consider that it hadn't happened for the Dolphins since 2017 — yes, nine years ago.

That season, the Dolphins opened with a starting five of (from left to right) Laremy Tunsil, Anthony Steen, Mike Pouncey, Jermon Bushrod and Ja'Wuan James until Steen was replaced by Jesse Davis in the seventh game.

Since then, the Dolphins hadn't even gone five games at the start of a season with the same offensive line, reaching four games in 2020. And Dolphins fans surely remember last year when the Dolphins lost both James Daniels and Austin Jackson in the opener.

So, yes, six games together for Patrick Paul, Proctor, Aaron Brewer, Jonah Savaiinaea and Jackson indeed was a big deal.

The rest it's a big deal obviously is that continuity, coordination and chemistry is a very big deal on the offensive line.

The hope, of course, is that Proctor will have to miss only one game and will be ready for the Week 9 matchup against the Detroit Lions, though with concussions you just never know.

TWO OTHERS QUESTIONABLE

Proctor was the only member of the active roster who did not practice Friday and the only one who was so much as limited was long-snapper Tucker Addington, who continues to deal with a shoulder injury.

Cornerback JuJu Brents was one of two players listed as questionable, but after being a full participant Friday, two days after missing practice with a concussion, it's a matter of getting final clearance over the weekend to play against New England and the outlook clearly is promising.

Also listed as questionable was cornerback Reese Taylor, who has missed the past three games with a quad injury. Taylor had his first full practice in weeks Friday, though it should be pointed out that final practice of the week always is pretty light.

THE GREAT BROWN MYSTERY

New England didn't rule out anybody, which kind of comes as a bit of a surprise given the late-week developments involving wide receiver A.J. Brown.

He missed practice for a second consecutive day Friday because of a knee issue amid reports he could wind up on injured reserve for a second time this season.

"Just like everything else, when you come out of the game or a long week or practice on Monday, you evaluate the player," Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said. "He just wasn't able to practice or finish practice on Wednesday. So, we’ll continue to treat him, and then we'll see where he is (Saturday)."

Brown reportedly has a degenerative knee condition, but the Patriots went ahead and nonetheless gave up a first-round pick to acquire him in that trade with Philadelphia in the offseason.

The Patriots already are thin at wide receiver with both Romeo Doubs and former Dolphins player Mack Hollins on injured reserve, and if they're forced to turn to their practice squad for help at the position, their most experienced player at the position there is Ryan Miller, who was with Miami for the first four games of the regular season and has the team's longest offensive play of the season with a 77-yard touchdown catch against the 49ers in Week 2.

Running back TreVeyon Henderson missed practice for a second consecutive day because of illness and was listed as questionable, as were CB Carlton Davis III (neck) and LB Christian Elliss (chest).

Davis and Elliss both were full participants in practice Friday.

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