Williams, Ford, Callaway and Assorted Dolphins WR Thoughts

The Miami Dolphins will go into their game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday with a big question mark at wide receiver after Preston Williams was put on injured reserve.

We address his injury and the wide receiver situation from different angles, starting with the injury itself.

It's actually become something of an unsolved mystery as to whether Williams was injured because safety Jalen Thompson twisted his left foot in a failed attempt to keep him from reaching the end zone in the second quarter last Sunday or because Christian Wilkins jumped on top of him to celebrate the score.

While there's no definitive answer, analysis of the replay would seem to suggest it's much more likely it was Thompson who caused the injury with a play that was borderline dirty because he kept hanging on to Williams' foot long after it was necessary.

Wilkins also didn't put very much weight on Williams when he jumped on top of him — let's face it, it wasn't like a wrestler doing a full-body drop on an opponent. As for the suggestion that Williams wasn't limping immediately after getting up after making the catch, there's certainly a possibility — if not likelihood — that adrenaline masked the pain until a few seconds later.

In any event, don't be shocked if we don't see Wilkins put a clear stop on the habit of jumping on top of teammates in celebration.

Regardless of how it happened, it's another tough break for Williams, who was enjoying a nice bounce-back game after his rough outing against the Rams.

It also should be noted that Williams' rookie season ended at the same juncture of the schedule — in the eighth game in Week 9. The hope certainly is that this injury won't turn out to be nearly as severe as the torn ACL he suffered against the Jets.

Williams will have to miss at least three games after being put on IR, and head coach Brian Flores didn't provide a timetable when asked this week about the severity of the injury.

With Williams gone, the Dolphins still have five wide receivers on the active roster, including rookies Malcolm Perry and Lynn Bowden Jr. The others are DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant and Mack Hollins.

The practice squad includes wide receivers Kirk Merritt, who was elevated for the game against Arizona last Sunday, and former Cleveland Browns fourth-round pick Antonio Callaway.

There have been comments on social media suggesting the Dolphins should have kept Isaiah Ford instead of trading him to the New England Patriots for a 2022 conditional sixth-round pick, but while Ford is a dependable receiver with a great work ethic who might play in the NFL for 10 years, the reality is that he's simply not an impact player.

Flores suggested this week the Dolphins would use a receiver-by-committee approach to replace Williams.

“It’s tough losing someone like Preston, who’s kind of been a game-changer for us while he’s been in there," quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. "He’s been targeted a lot more I feel like this year in our offense; but it’s next man up. Really, it’s pretty much all the guys that you guys have seen when we played the Cardinals. That’s pretty much the guys that need to step up and there’s probably going to be some other guys as well, but it’s just really a daily competition for all of us — receiving corps, quarterbacks, the list goes on — and so nothing really changes as far as who I’m going to target more and whatnot. It’s I’ve got to go through my progression and if that’s the open person, then that’s where the ball needs to go to.”

When the Dolphins elevated Merritt last week, they didn't have Bowden because he was on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, so it's possible they might just swap Bowden for Williams.

Callaway and Merritt, a rookie free agent from Arkansas State, have intriguing skill sets and the Dolphins do have some open spots on the 53-man roster, so another elevation certainly is a possibility.

Or maybe the Dolphins again will just give more work to Grant and to Hollins, who played a season-high 17 offensive snaps against Arizona and had his first reception since coming to Miami last December.

The 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was a big play in the game and an impressive catch as he snagged the ball away from an Arizona defender who had tight coverage but never turned to look at the ball.

Hollins had only 27 catches in 40 career games with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Dolphins, but he averaged 20.6 yards per catch during his time at the University of North Carolina before being a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

So there's clearly some ability there.

Maybe he'll get the chance to start showing it off starting Sunday.

It's just one of the many unresolved questions at wide receiver for the Dolphins.

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