Wednesday Dolphins Notebook: Jackson Back, O’Connell’s Miami Connection, Focus on the Vikings, and More
Not to be lost amid a flurry of injury news for the Miami Dolphins was the return of tackle Austin Jackson to practice.
Jackson was placed on IR before the Week 2 game at Baltimore because of an ankle injury and was designated for return, opening his three-week practice window. Before that window closes, the Dolphins will have to decide whether to activate him, keep him on IR for the entire season or release him.
It’s pretty clear that Jackson will be activated, and the only question is whether it’ll happen this week or later. And when he does get activated, it should be expected he’ll return to the starting lineup at right tackle because Greg Little’s play has slipped the past couple of games after he got off to a good start.
The Dolphins already have had one player return from IR this season, special teams ace Clayton Fejedelem.
Each team can have a maximum of eight returns from IR, including the same player returning more than once if necessary.
FOCUSING ON THE VIKINGS
There was something missing from the Dolphins locker room when the media went back for interviews Wednesday: the ping-pong (or table tennis) table between two walls in the middle.
Head coach Mike McDaniel said the decision to remove the table came from the team leadership, headed by Tyreek Hill.
“Tyreek and the captains decided that they wanted to take a step forward with all their opponent prep with regard to the team and their preparation with our game plans in general,” McDaniel said. “So he made the move to take the ping-pong tables out of a locker room. That, to me, is leadership. To me, leadership is acting, not talking. There’s a bunch of different examples from those guys, and that’s why they’re captains and that’s why I rely on them, because it’s about solving problems, not complaining about them. They, collectively, as a group of players, wanted more time investment during the week on their jobs for Sunday. So instead of just saying it, they did something about it. And that’s the whole reason that I really have a lot of love for those guys.”
As a reminder, the other captains on the Dolphins this season are Tua Tagovailoa, Terron Armstead, Elandon Roberts, Christian Wilkins, Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland.
The question now, of course, will be whether the ping-pong table will return at any point this season.
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O’CONNELL’S DOLPHINS CONNECTION
Fun fact about Kevin O’Connell, the first-year Vikings head coach who will take his team into Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday: He once played for the Dolphins.
Well, spent one training camp with the Dolphins would be more accurate.
O’Connell was signed in early August 2011, but did not make the 53-man roster after the Dolphins decided to keep two quarterbacks: Chad Henne and Matt Moore. O’Connell played in the first and last preseason game that year, but attempted only two passes. The other quarterback on the roster during training camp that year was Pat Devlin.
The Dolphins were the fourth of five teams for which O’Connell played after being a third-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2008. His playing career ended after he was released by the San Diego Chargers in mid-August 2012.
O’Connell’s coaching career began in 2015 when he was hired as QB coach for the Cleveland Browns. The Vikings hired him as head coach this offseason after he spent two years as offensive coordinator for the Rams.
FORMER DOLPHINS NEWS
— Wide receiver Albert Wilson has been signed to the Las Vegas Raiders active roster after being on their practice squad. He joins fellow former Dolphins wide receiver Mack Hollins on their roster.
— Two former Dolphins players joined different practice squads, linebacker Calvin Munson with the New England Patriots and running back Jordan Howard with the New Orleans Saints. Munson was released on the Dolphins IR list Tuesday.
ON THIS DAY IN DOLPHINS HISTORY
— Oct. 12, 1986: In the first battle between 1983 first-round picks Dan Marino and Jim Kelly, the Dolphins defeat the Buffalo Bills, 27-14, at the Orange Bowl. Kelly, of course, played in the USFL from 1983-85.
— Oct. 12, 2009: Wearing orange jerseys for the third time in franchise history, the Dolphins outlast the New York Jets, 31-27, in a thrilling Monday night game in Miami.
— Oct. 12, 2014: The Dolphins give up a last-second touchdown in a heartbreaking 27-24 loss against the Green Bay Packers, but the real story is a postgame comment from then-coach Joe Philbin that will stick for years, his admission of “getting queasy” and deciding to call for a running play when Miami had a chance to run out the clock with the lead.
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