The Miami Dolphins may have to keep waiting on Caleb Douglas, and that’s a problem for an offense already stuck in the mud.
Douglas has been out since injuring his ankle in Week 2 and still hasn’t practiced. A Week 5 return had started to feel possible, but Jeff Hafley shut that down on Wednesday when he told the press that Douglas " Will be out today, but he is getting better."
That leaves the Dolphins trying to piece together production without one of their most reliable targets. In Week 1, Douglas opened fast with 90-plus receiving yards, but he left the 49ers game early and Miami has never really found its footing since.
The team has leaned more on Malik Washington and tried to get Chris Bell involved, but the results have been thin. Through four weeks, Miami has just one passing touchdown and only 654 receiving yards, while its opponents have piled up 906. Douglas’ 94 receiving yards in Week 1 remain a big chunk of what little the passing game has produced.
Douglas may not be an elite receiver, but he has been Miami’s best option. He has built trust with Malik Willis, and his quickness and route running have given the offense something the other receivers have not.
If Willis also sits this week, the more realistic target for Douglas may be Week 7, after the team’s Week 6 bye. That extra time could be enough if Hafley is right that Douglas is moving in the right direction.
The offseason talk around Douglas centered on whether he was an overreached pick early in the third round, but so far he has looked anything but like a bust. Bell, selected later in the third round, is still working back from the ACL injury he suffered last December, so some rust was expected there.
Either way, the numbers tell the story. Malik Washington leads Miami with 219 receiving yards, Douglas is next with 113, and that comes despite Douglas missing two and a half games. For the Dolphins, that’s a blunt reminder of how little has clicked on offense - and how much they still miss Douglas when he’s not out there.
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