NFL

You had one job? Dolphins actually have three roles in mind for rookie Jaylen Waddle

Hal Habib
Palm Beach Post

MIAMI GARDENS — The Dolphins’ trade this past week wasn’t just an opportunity to move on from Jakeem Grant.

It was a chance to pile a bunch more duties onto Jaylen Waddle’s shoulders.

How does WR/KR/PR look next to his name? Because instead of being just a starter at wide receiver in his rookie season, Waddle now is the Dolphins’ primary kick and punt returner on the depth chart.

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Dolphins fans would be happy to know that the last time a door opened this wide, Waddle jumped at the chance. At Alabama, he averaged a massive 19.3 yards on punt returns.

“I enjoy it,” Waddle said Friday. “I mean, it’s something if I can help the team, I will.”

Dolphins rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle is looking forward to a busy day Sunday against the Buccaneers.

The Grant trade never would have happened if coaches weren’t confident in Waddle’s ability to hold onto the ball. Little can change the momentum of a game faster than a lost fumble on a punt or kickoff. In fact, Grant’s final touch as a Dolphin came on a muffed punt that led to a field goal for the Colts during last Sunday's loss.

“We emphasize that a lot in general,” Waddle said of ball security.

Waddle knows that outside of when Miami’s defense is on the field against Tom Brady and Tampa Bay’s offense, he won’t be spending much time on the sideline Sunday.

“I should be good,” he said of his stamina. “I’ve got some training camp in me and a few games.”

Although Waddle had a total of three returns for touchdowns for the Crimson Tide, he deflected the credit.

“It’s always good to have a good unit, people that you trust in,” Waddle said. “It’s a core unit, just having them guys together. It’s not just the returner even though the returner gets the ball and they make plays.”

Center with a resume arrives

With the Dolphins dangerously close to being down to their third center in five games this season, they turned to New Orleans’ practice squad to find … a center whose resume you never expect to find on anyone’s practice squad.

The Dolphins added Austin Reiter as insurance this week. His claim to fame: merely being a starting center in the past two Super Bowls.

Dolphins starter Michael Deiter is on injured reserve, which put the job in the hands of Greg Mancz. The concern early this week was that Mancz had a neck injury, so Miami had to make a move. But Mancz made it through the week and is good to go for Sunday, meaning Reiter likely will be his backup.

It’s probably just as well, since Reiter has had only three practices to sort out the language in Miami’s playbook.

“I kind of joke around, saying, ‘You guys are speaking Spanish when I speak French,’ ” Reiter said. “It’s like speaking another language. To me, with the experience I have, football is football. So inside zone, outside zone — the plays are the plays. The protections, there’s a hundred ways to do it, but it’s just speaking the same verbiage.”

Reiter, 29, has started 33 of the 60 games played in his career, including starting for Kansas City in the past two Super Bowls. After going unsigned, he joined the Saints’ practice squad before landing in Miami.

“I think that’s the NFL,” he said of the moves. “It kind of reminded me of when I got released from Cleveland, that I was getting claimed by Kansas City. Nothing’s guaranteed in this league, so when you see teams take claims, when they take the initiative to get players, as a player, that instills a lot of confidence and trust in your game that you’re doing the right things.”

Coincidentally, his first game with the Dolphins will be at Raymond James Stadium, site of the last Super Bowl as well as where he played college ball for South Florida.

Reiter had a 70.9 grade from Pro Football Focus last season, a number that would place him 10th this season. He had a 78.3 in pass protection and a 63.6 score in run blocking.

Noteworthy: Parker is questionable

Receiver DeVante Parker (shoulder, hamstring) is questionable for Sunday’s game, the only Dolphin with an injury designation of concern.

The Buccaneers listed three players as out: tight end Rob Gronkowski (ribs), defensive lineman Patrick O’Connor (calf) and safety Antoine Winfield (concussion). Questionable are cornerback Jamel Dean (knee), linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder, hand) and running back Giovani Bernard (knee).

Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (knee) is still technically on injured reserve but is likely to be activated for the game.

* Dolphins receiver Preston Williams, who has missed three games this season and has one reception, could be looking at an increased workload.

Williams has ended the past two seasons on injured reserve but coach Brian Flores said he’s getting healthy.

"Physically he's in a good place,” Flores said. “Mentally, I think he's in a good place also. I don't think he's thinking about what's happened in the past. I think he's excited to get an opportunity."