Dolphins Bye Week Just Raised Fresh Concerns Before Final 10-Game Stretch

As the Miami Dolphins strategize during their bye week, key roster shifts and practice updates hint at attempts to revitalize a winless season.

The Miami Dolphins used their Week 6 bye to do a little of everything on Tuesday: get on the field, shuffle the roster and give a handful of players a day to recover before the team heads into a 10-game run to close the season.

It was a light practice by design, but there were still a few notable absences. Miami Herald reporter C.

Isaiah Smalls II reported that linebacker Jordyn Brooks did not take part after leaving Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with a foot injury before returning at the top of the third quarter. Edge Robert Beal Jr., cornerback Reese Taylor, running back Jaylen Wright, wide receiver Caleb Douglas and right guard Jonah Savaiinaea also were not out there.

Quarterback Malik Willis also drew attention for a different reason. During Tuesday’s practice, he didn’t throw.

That said, the bye-week setup mattered here. Players who might have been limited in a normal practice were held out altogether, so the quiet session was not entirely out of the ordinary.

Tuesday wasn’t just about the practice field, either. The Dolphins made several roster moves, adding new players to both the 53-man roster and the practice squad. One of those updates included bringing back quarterback Brady Cook to the practice squad.

The week may slow down from here, but the picture around the team got plenty busy on Tuesday.

Elsewhere around the Dolphins beat, C. Isaiah Smalls wrote about the team hoping the bye week provides a useful “evaluation” that can turn into wins. Another report from David Furones noted that Malik Willis was not seen throwing a football during the media viewing portion of the light Tuesday practice.

There was also fresh attention on Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati. Tyler DeSena examined what the Week 5 film revealed, pointing to Miami’s problems with the pass on both sides of the ball. Chris Perkins also wrote about the small home crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, where the announced attendance of 58,223 was among the lowest there in recent years, and the mix of empty aqua seats and Bengals fans was hard to miss.

Roster news continued to move as well. Omar Kelly reported that the Dolphins released Ryan Miller, the receiver who caught Willis’ first touchdown pass in Miami.

On the running back front, C. Isaiah Smalls also looked at Ollie Gordon II and why he has appeared “more comfortable” as RB1. Separate commentary pieces from The Phinsider added more reaction to the bye week, the team’s recent performance and the return of Brady Cook.

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