Breaking Down the Week 16 Dolphins Inactive Info: Big Move with NWI

Going over the inactives for the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (18) during practice at Estadio Riyadh Air Metropolitano. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins' Week 16 inactive list for their game against the Cincinnati Bengals clearly is highlighted by the presence of Tua Tagovailoa being listed as the emergency third quarterback, even though we all knew this was coming after head coach Mike McDaniel's announcement during the week.

Among the other inactives, the one name that stands out is that of wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who frankly has been a disappointment as an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

This move was foreshadowed by the Dolphins elevating rookie wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. from the practice squad Saturday for his NFL debut.

The move with NWI relates to the possibility of the Dolphins being able to earn a compensatory draft pick in the 2026 NFL draft based on their UFA signings and losses of this year.

The very complicated formula includes annual average salary of UFAs along with other factors such as playing time and postseason accolades.

Only a certain number of free agents qualify as compensatory free agents and NWI is teetering on the line of qualification, so the Dolphins may want to make sure he doesn't qualify because if he did, it would hurt their ratio of free agents pickups and losses, with teams needing a net loss of compensatory free agents to be eligible for a draft pick.

If the Dolphins keep out NWI the rest of the way, he likely will end up not reaching the snap percentage to make him a compensatory free agent and could produce a net loss for the Dolphins, which would result in a 2026 fourth-round pick for the loss of Jevon Holland.

Compensatory picks don't become official until March, but this would be the logic behind not playing Westbrook-Ikhine, who hasn't been much of a factor regardless for Miami.

Along with NWI, fellow wide receiver Tahj Washington again will be inactive as he continues what has been a disappointing season.

Veteran tackle Kendall Lamm again will be inactive in favor of Kion Smith, who now has three practice squad elevations since being re-signed after he was waived. So this will be it for Smith this season unless the Dolphins re-sign him to the active roster.

Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, as expected, is inactive because of the calf injury he sustained in the Monday night loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The other inactives will be CB Isaiah Johnson, whose absence could be felt on special teams, and DT Matthew Butler.

CINCINNATI BENGALS INACTIVE INFO

For Cincinnati, the biggest news involved wide receiver Tee Higgins, who will be back in the lineup after missing two of the past three games because of concussion issues.

Higgins teams with Ja'Marr Chase to form perhaps the most dynamic wide receiver combination in the NFL.

The Bengals inactives were WR Charlie Jones, CB Bralyn Lux, S P.J. Jules, DE Joseph Ossai, TE Noah Fant and DT Jordan Jefferson, with Jake Browning serving as the emergency third quarterback.