A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Friday:
▪ The Dolphins will get four key veteran players back for Sunday’s game at New England: left tackle Terron Armstead, cornerback Kendall Fuller, running back Raheem Mostert and linebacker David Long Jr. All four have no injury designations for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game and are good to go.
Among players on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster, only safety Jordan Poyer (shin) was ruled out for Sunday’s game.
Even though receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, the Dolphins created a spot on the 53-man roster for him (or possibly cornerback Cam Smith, who was also listed as questionable) by releasing quarterback Tim Boyle on Friday afternoon.
For now, Beckham remains on the physically unable to perform list after offseason knee surgery, and Smith remains on injured reserve after an August hamstring injury. But there’s now an open roster spot for one of them, with Beckham needed more than Smith at this point.
Beckham, who had not practiced for the Dolphins this summer before Thursday, has looked good in practice this week, according to Mike McDaniel and players. If he plays Sunday, his snap count will be moderated, McDaniel said.
Boyle’s release leaves starter Tyler Huntley and Skylar Thompson as the only quarterbacks on the roster, and Huntley as the only healthy one.
It’s possible the Dolphins could add Boyle to the practice squad on Saturday and elevate him for Sunday’s game.
Thompson, who was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, said his injured ribs have improved to an extent but are still giving him discomfort when he contorts his body to make certain throws.
“Violent motion is what sparks it still,” he said of the pain. “That’s what’s presenting me trouble.”
Mostert, who sustained a chest injury on his first carry of the season, said Friday that he expects to play after missing the past three games. Armstead and Fuller cleared concussion protocol on Friday, and Long’s hamstring has healed; those three players missed this past Monday’s game against Tennessee.
Receiver Braxton Berrios, running back Jeff Wilson Jr. and linebacker Duke Riley — who were limited in practice with injuries earlier in the week — will play Sunday.
▪ With Jaelan Phillips out for the season, rookie outside linebacker Chop Robinson’s playing time likely will increase.
Has Robinson been effective against the run?
“I think Chop for the most part has done a good job when he’s been asked to set the edge,” defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “Where he can continue to improve is really in his hand usage, getting extension and then violently shedding blocks, and that’s normal for young college players.
“Well in this league, when you’re getting your head in there… these 340-pound linemen, they’re going to grab you and they’re going to throw you all over the place. They’re not going to call holding and that is what it is. So you’ve got to play with extension so you can get them locked out, locate the ball and then shed these offensive linemen. If there was an area he needed to improve at in setting the edge, it’s now once you’ve got that point of contact, getting locked out, getting extension so you have time and distance now to find the ball and get rid of that offensive player.”
In run defense, Pro Football Focus ranks Robinson 13th among 21 Dolphins defenders who have played this season — tied with Zach Sieler. Defensive tackle Benito Jones is ranked last.
▪ Rookie fifth-round outside linebacker Mo Kamara said he “definitely ready” if needed to play on Sunday, in the wake of Phillips’ injury.
“Of course I’m going to make mistakes, but I have the best coaching,” Kamara said.
The Dolphins must decide whether their fourth edge player Sunday will be Kamara or veteran Tyus Bowser, who was poached from Seattle’s practice squad this week.
Weaver said Dolphins starter Emmanuel Ogbah is “essentially what you hope Mohamed grows into. Right now for us, he is that — an enforcer and you saw it multiple times in that [Monday night] game. He sets a firm edge. He can intimidate you with just his sheer size and will and his ability to stick his face in the fan.
“And then as a rusher, he’s not just a power guy; there’s a little finesse aspect and great hand usage to it, too. To me, he’s the perfect guy for Mohamed to watch and kind of see what he can take from him and then add to his game.”
▪ How has cornerback Jalen Ramsey played through four games?
“I think Jalen Ramsey is playing like Jalen Ramsey,” Weaver said. “There were a couple times where there was some coverage breakdown where he was — I don’t want to say he was vulnerable, but he was put in… a situation where he was expecting help and it wasn’t there and that reflected negatively on him. I don’t think those were his fault. But we’ve put him against their best guys the last two weeks, and when he was on them, shoot, he’s been who we expect him to be. We’re just going to keep trying to find ways to move him around so he can affect the game.”
▪ According to Pro Football Focus’ evaluation, rookie left tackle Patrick Paul permitted a sack and had mediocre run-blocking grades in his first NFL start against Tennessee. Offensive coordinator Frank Smith was measured in his assessment.
“There’s some things that we thought that he’s going to get some really good learned lessons from, growing from good things he did blockingwise,” Smith said.
▪ Wilson Jr., arguably the team’s most physical runner, wasn’t an option on short yardage situations against Tennessee because of a knee injury sustained in pregame warmups. He played two snaps but felt too much discomfort to continue.
“It was giving me a lot of pain,” he said. “After two plays, it was feeling real tight and unstable.”
Wilson underwent testing on the knee “and everything came out fine.” He said he’s able to play now.
Wilson has only eight carries, for 40 yards (a 5.0 average).
Asked if he believes he can help the team’s ailing running game, he said: “Most definitely I can help. I am going to do way more good than bad. This is what I love. I came out of the womb to play.”
Conversely, De’Von Achane is averaging just 3.1 yards on 53 carries.
Rookie Jaylen Wright is averaging 3.3 yards on 16 rushing attempts.
The Dolphins are averaging 3.7 yards per carry, which is tied for 26th in the league.
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