Examining the Upcoming Dolphins Roster Decisions

Austin Jackson and Darren Waller could be ready to make their return to action

Miami Dolphins tight end Darren Waller (83) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins might wind up getting not one starter back from injured reserve this weekend, but two.

Tackle Austin Jackson and tight end Darren Waller both look like they stand a good chance of being activated from injured reserve for the Week 13 game against the New Orleans Saints at Hard Rock Stadium, based on head coach Mike McDaniel's pre-practice comments Friday.

The return of Waller against New Orleans would be the more surprising of the two because he returned to practice just this week after missing the past four games because of a pectoral injury, whereas Jackson returned to practice during the week of the game against the Washington Commanders in Spain.

McDaniel said the final evaluation would be made after practice Friday, but indicated that Waller was "in play" to be in the lineup against New Orleans.

McDaniel did say earlier this week that Jackson could be on a rotation basis with his right tackle replacement Larry Borom upon his return.

The addition of Waller clearly would benefit the passing game, which has taken a back seat to the running game in recent week and consists of a whole lot of Jaylen Waddle and not much else. Waller's presence gives the Dolphins a major threat in the red zone, among other things.

THE NEXT MOVES?

Because the Dolphins currently stand at the 53-player roster limit after signing linebacker/special teams specialist Caleb Johnson off their practice squad, they will have to make a corresponding roster move to activate either player.

If the Dolphins want to keep the same breakdown of players by position, the logical switches here would suggest that first-year player Hayden Rucci would be waived to make room for Waller, but it's a little trickier on the offensive line.

The two logical candidates for the waiver wire are veteran Kendall Lamm and third-year player Kion Smith.

While he has the experience advantage, Lamm has played only seven snaps on offense the whole season, those snaps coming in garbage time at the end of the 34-10 blowout victory against the Atlanta Falcons.

Smith is a player the Dolphins have long held in high regard, but he failed when he replaced veteran James Daniels at right guard in the season opener and was replaced by Daniel Brunskill at that position during the Week 3 game against the Buffalo Bills, with former New England Patriots first-round pick Cole Strange taking over the following week and taking hold of the position.

At this time of year, creating a spot by placing a player on injured reserve usually winds up being an option, but the Dolphins have had every player on their 53-man roster take part in practice this week.

Another possibility we might suggest is that maybe the Dolphins will move a player at another position where there's a surplus, and wide receiver quickly comes to mind. The Dolphins have six on the 53-man roster right now, and there's a pretty big number, especially given the renewed emphasis on the running game.

So maybe it wouldn't be a shock if Cedrick Wilson Jr. were to be waived after earlier being signed off the Saints practice squad in the aftermath of the Tyreek Hill injury.

All the answers will be coming by Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.