Breaking Down the Dolphins Saturday Moves

The Miami Dolphins made their customary practice squad elevations Saturday, but there was something different on this occasion.

And the Dolphins also didn't make one move they could have made, that of activating tackle Austin Jackson from injured reserve after he practiced this week.

The Dolphins did elevate two players from the practice squad as they have three previous times this season, but for the first time it was two players at one position, with tackles Brandon Shell and Kion Smith both getting the call for the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Hard Rock Stadium.

And there are clear implications there, and they involve veteran Terron Armstead, who continues to deal with a toe injury.

Armstead hasn't practiced since the week of the season opener and the Dolphins have elevated one tackle every game since Week 1 to give them eight offensive linemen in uniform.

But Armstead is coming off a game he couldn't finish after he aggravated his toe injury and he's listed as questionable for the game against the Vikings, and having both Smith and Shell up certainly would seem to suggest the Dolphins aren't sure Armstead is going to be able to go against Minnesota.

Shell, the veteran who was signed a few weeks ago, took over for Armstead at left tackle against the New York Jets last Sunday after the prized free agent acquisition left the game in the first quarter and would figure to get the call to start if Armstead ends up being inactive.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

NO SURPRISE WITH JACKSON

As for Jackson, head coach Mike McDaniel seems to hint Friday that Jackson wasn't quite ready to return from the ankle injury that landed him on IR before the Week 2 game at Baltimore.

The Dolphins have two more weeks of practice with Jackson before they have to make a decision on his roster status, and it's certainly fair to be optimistic he'll be back in the lineup in time for the Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers along with QB Tua Tagovailoa after Tua got out of the concussion protocol Saturday.

THE ELEVATION SCORECARD

Keeping track of the practice squad elevations this season:

Week 1 — WR River Cracraft, S Verone McKinley III

Week 2 — WR River Cracraft, T Larnel Coleman

Week 3 — WR River Cracraft, T Larnel Coleman

Week 4 — T Larnel Coleman

Week 5 — T Brandon Shell

Week 6 — T Brandon Shell, T Kion Smith

Note: Cracraft was signed to the active roster Sept. 29; Coleman been elevated the maximum three times, therefore can't appear in another regular season game for the Dolphins unless he's signed to the active roster.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.