The Miami Dolphins will play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday with the hope of improving their record to 4-0 on the season. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel updated the statuses of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, linebacker Jaelan Phillips and center Connor Williams ahead of Sunday’s game.
Mike McDaniel says Jaelan Phillips and Connor Williams will not practice today but Jaylen Waddle will practice in full — he’s got the chance to clear concussion protocol depending on the results of today’s practice
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) September 27, 2023
Waddle was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after a three-season stint playing college football at the University of Alabama. He accumulated 560-plus receiving yards and four-plus receiving touchdowns in each of his three seasons as a member of the Crimson Tide.
His best season of college football came during his freshman season, the 2018 season. Waddle ended up with 848 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in 15 games with the Crimson Tide as a freshman.
The 24-year-old has played three seasons in the NFL, all as a member of the Dolphins franchise. He totaled 1,356 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in 17 games played with the Dolphins during the 2022 regular season (all starts).
Also, the 5-foot-10 wide receiver averaged a league-best 18.1 receiving yards per reception a season ago.
Meanwhile, Phillips was selected with the No. 18 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and has played three seasons in the NFL, all with the Dolphins. He racked up 61 combined tackles, 37 solo tackles, seven sacks, eight tackles for loss and two fumbles recovered across 17 appearances with the Dolphins during the 2022 regular season (15 starts). Also, Phillips recorded an impressive 25 quarterback hits.
Williams was selected with the No. 50 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after a two-season stint playing college football at the University of Texas at Austin and has played for two teams — the Dallas Cowboys and Dolphins — across his six seasons in the NFL. He recovered one fumble in 17 games played with Miami during the 2022 regular season (all starts).
Here’s to hoping that all three of Waddle, Phillips and Williams will be available to play for McDaniel and the Dolphins against the Bills on Sunday. But Waddle might be the most important of the three players, seeing as he is one of the better wide receivers in the NFL at just 24 years old.
