Dolphins center Aaron Brewer good to go, but WR Malik Washington ruled out; Calais Campbell remembers time with Jaguars

MIAMI GARDENS — New Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer is all set to debut with his new team after recovering from hand surgery in the past month.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel indicated he expects Brewer to be available by stating fellow offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg will be playing right guard in Sunday’s regular-season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium.

When the Dolphins released their Friday injury report, Brewer had no injury designation. He went from limited Wednesday and Thursday to being a full practice participant Friday.

Brewer had surgery on his right hand that he lacerated in a joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons in early August.

In recent practices, he has been seen snapping with the hand and said Thursday he can do it just fine and will be using his normal glove he wears on game days.

“It feels good,” Brewer said. “Everything normal. Brand-new hand.”

With Eichenberg slated to start at right guard, Robert Jones is the projected starter at left guard Sunday. The Dolphins have Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson at left and right tackle.

A bit of a surprise on Friday, however, was that rookie wide receiver Malik Washington, dealing with a quadriceps ailment, has been ruled out.

With newly paid star cornerback Jalen Ramsey back at Friday practice and questionable for Sunday as he recovers from his ailing hamstring, Washington was the only Dolphins player on the active roster not participating in Friday’s practice. He was limited at Wednesday and Thursday drills.

Washington’s NFL regular-season debut will have to wait after the sixth-round draft pick out of Virginia had an impressive initial training camp and preseason.

The slot wide receiver’s absence means veteran Braxton Berrios will take on a greater role in the slot offensively and in the return game.

The Dolphins, who also have 6-foot-2 wide receiver Grant DuBose on the roster after he was recently claimed off waivers, may elevate a wide receiver from the practice squad. Their options there include a pair of active-roster wideouts from last season, Robbie Chosen and Erik Ezukanma, and fourth-year pro Dee Eskridge.

Campbell vs. former team

Ramsey and veteran Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell were both members of the 2017 Jaguars team that reached the AFC Championship Game and had a fourth-quarter lead against the New England Patriots with a shot to go to the Super Bowl.

As Campbell gets set to face one of his former teams, he reminisced on that run in Jacksonville.

“I think one of the best things about that year is that nobody believed we could do it, nobody gave us a shot in the dark at all,” he said. “I don’t think, as a team, we even talked about the Super Bowl. It wasn’t even anything we discussed. Let’s just go out there and be the best we can be.”

That’s a different perspective from the opening expectation as Campbell, 38, embarks on his 17th NFL season with certain Super Bowl aspirations in Miami.

“It was a little different environment versus this team has been in the playoffs back-to-back years in a fashion that left a bad taste in their mouth,” he said. “I’ve kind of been a part of all of those scenarios, so I know what’s needed to motivate a team like this. It’s definitely different. It can’t be the same based off the history.”

Campbell, the University of Miami product who is the last active NFL player to play his home college football games in the Orange Bowl, went to one Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals as a rookie in 2008 but hasn’t been back.

“Those runs are special,” Campbell said. “You can feel the energy you can feel the connection that you have to have. You can see the talent.”

Campbell was with Jaguars from 2017 to 2019, at a time when they were known as “Sacksonville” as he was part of a fierce defensive line and pass rush.

As for his Hurricanes, Campbell was a proud alumnus last Saturday watching them defeat the rival Florida Gators 41-17 in Gainesville.

“I like what I saw. I don’t know if we’re really good or if Florida is bad, we will see,” he said. “I don’t try to get really excited because I’ve seen big wins and the rest of the season wasn’t the same. I hope we continue to play at that level, but what I did like is the way the offensive line and defensive line dominated. That was really good trench work.”

Campbell said he even texted UM coach Mario Cristobal to compliment him on the play of his team at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

—The Dolphins have brought back their multi-colored camouflage jerseys for top scout-team players of the week. The first three to have them in 2024 ahead of the opener: defensive tackle Jonathan Harris, linebacker Dequan Jackson and the aforementioned wide receiver Eskridge.