Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could be a step closer to having a full slate of pass catchers when Miami faces the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Dolphins wide receivers DeVante Parker and Preston Williams were both present at Thursday’s practice, and while they remained limited, according to the team’s injury report, their Thursday participation came in a more telling session than Wednesday’s softer walkthrough.
Along with them, tight end Adam Shaheen also participated and remained a full participant, like he was listed on Wednesday. Parker, Williams and Shaheen all missed Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dolphins also had cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones back on the practice field, after they were the others among the five on the active roster to miss the game against the Jaguars due to injury. Although the Dolphins had lengthy travel to and from London and now will play again the following week, skipping the usual post-London bye week, the Dolphins had perfect attendance among those on the active roster at Thursday’s practice.
While all Miami players were present, the Dolphins have 14 players listed on the injury report. The Thursday report revealed no changes among the 12 that were deemed limited and two said to have practiced fully. The Wednesday report merely presented an estimation of what players’ participation would have been in a full practice.
Parker (shoulder/hamstring) and Howard (shoulder/groin) missed the previous week of practice before being ruled out on Friday ahead of the Jaguars game. Jones (Achilles/groin), Williams (groin) and Shaheen (knee) were all deemed inactive on Sunday ahead of the morning kickoff. Of those, Shaheen was the only one listed as a full participant. The others were among the 12 that were limited.
While three pass-catchers could come back for Tagovailoa, he will still be without Will Fuller, who is spending a third week on injured reserve.
Nonetheless, it’s a lengthy injury report for Miami coming off the trip to London. Others limited were: Tagovailoa (ribs) and backup Jacoby Brissett (hamstring), running back Malcolm Brown (ribs), linebacker Jaelan Phillips (ankle), offensive linemen Austin Jackson (shoulder) and Greg Mancz (groin), defensive tackle John Jenkins (knees) and safety Brandon Jones (ankle). Along with Shaheen, linebacker Elandon Roberts (throat) remained a full participant.
Meanwhile, the Falcons, coming off their idle week that followed their own trip to London, only have three players on their injury report. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins returned to practice as a full participant after missing Wednesday with an illness. Outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. (knee) was held out of drills for a second consecutive day while cornerback Avery Williams (hamstring) remained limited. Atlanta will have wide receiver and former Monarch High standout Calvin Ridley back after he missed the team’s last game for personal reasons.
Ogbah reacts to racist message
Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah spoke to reporters on Thursday for the first time since he posted a screenshot on Twitter of a racist direct message sent privately to him on Instagram.
The message used the N-word twice — once directed at Ogbah and then again at his Dolphins teammates — in the immediate aftermath of Miami’s crushing loss to the Jaguars in London.
“When I saw the DM, it was definitely after a tough loss, and seeing that pissed me off,” Ogbah said Thursday. “It’s not he first time I’ve gotten a message like that, but I just wanted to show the world that you can’t do that. We’re all human. You can’t come at a person like that. I know you can’t come to my face like that, so I just wanted to show the world you can’t do that.”
Ogbah posted a screenshot of the message, which was sent to him by a University of Rhode Island student, as Ogbah’s Twitter followers quickly found upon researching the sender’s social media profiles. Ogbah later deleted the tweet.
“I realized, you know, I didn’t want it to be a distraction for this team,” Ogbah said, “and so that was one reason why I deleted the tweet.”
The Rhode Island student faces disciplinary action, with the university president releasing a statement condemning the language used.
Ogbah hopes progress is made regarding race relations in America and the world as a whole.
“I strive to be a better human every day, and I just hope the world tries to be better as a society,” he said. “We’re all the same. We all bleed the same. We’re just different colors.”
