Evaluating Which Dolphins Players Could Return from Injury After Bye

The Miami Dolphins are officially on their bye week after beating the Washington Commanders to improve to 4-7.

While the Dolphins can’t win any more games in Week 12, they can get some victories in the form of players returning to the field. The Dolphins have a lot of key players they could get back before playing the New Orleans Saints on November 30.

“We’re gonna have a good collection of guys coming back,” coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday. He didn’t get into specifics, so we’ll look at where each key player Miami could return.

Austin Jackson, Offensive Tackle

Austin Jackson feels like the most likely candidate to return to the lineup. His practice window was opened last week, meaning he could have been activated for the team’s game against the Commanders.

Jackson has been out with a toe injury since Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts. Injuries are starting to become a problem for Jackson, as he’s missed more than half of Miami’s games in four of the last five seasons.

When Jackson does return, he'll slot back into the team's starting right tackle spot.

James Daniels, Offensive Guard

Sticking with the offensive line, Daniels also could be designated for return sooner rather than later, though it's not likely to happen this week considering the Dolphins won't be practicing during their bye week.

Daniels played four snaps against the Colts before suffering a pectoral injury that has kept him out of the lineup since. Daniels had successfully rehabbed from a torn Achilles to get ready for Week 1, so it was a tough blow for the veteran to get hurt so quickly.

Miami was really relying on Daniels to stabilize the guard spot, so he'll get his starting job back when he does return to action.

Jason Sanders, Kicker

Hey, remember Jason Sanders? He suffered a hip injury during warmups for the team’s last preseason game and hasn't played since.

The initial reported timeline for Sanders’ injury was five to six weeks, but we’re well past that now. It seems unlikely he’ll return, but we can’t officially rule it out.

Riley Patterson, who has made 17 of his 19 field goals, has done a nice job as Sanders’ replacement.

Darren Waller, Tight End

Darren Waller suffered a pectoral injury in Week 7 against the Cleveland Browns and was placed on injured reserve. This past week’s game was his fourth out of the lineup, so he’s eligible to be activated this week.

We haven’t gotten much of an update on Waller in a while, but a pectoral strain is usually something players come back from after a few weeks. However, Waller also battled injuries this summer when he came out of retirement.

It'll be interesting to see how many snaps Waller gets if he returns. Miami has found a promising young tight end in Greg Dulcich over the past few weeks.

Andrew Meyer, Offensive Line

Meyer suffered an injury in the preseason and was put on injured reserve during roster cuts. However, he was designated to return, so the team believed he’d be healthy to play again at some point this season.

Liam Eichenberg, Offensive Line

Liam Eichenberg is still on the physically unable to perform list after getting injured in the preseason.

McDaniel has not sounded optimistic about Eichenberg returning this season, so we’d be surprised if he did return in the next few weeks.

Rasul Douglas, Cornerback

Rasul Douglas isn’t on injured reserve, but we’re including him since he’s missed the past two games with a foot/ankle injury.

Given that the team didn’t put him on IR, it seems safe to assume he’ll be back against the Saints in Week 12. With JuJu Brents' recent injury, the Dolphins need Douglas a lot more than they did against the Commanders.

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