As fans lock in their final predictions for the Miami Dolpins' Thursday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills, there is concern in terms of the running back position. With the injuries to stars Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane, the Dolphins bring reinforcements as they look to activate rookie Jaylen Wright according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“Dolphins rookie RB Jaylen Wright is expected to be active tonight vs the #Bills and make his NFL debut,” Schultz wrote on his X, formerly Twitter, account. “The 4th-round pick out of Tennessee was inactive for Week 1, but with Raheem Mostert out and De'Von Achane officially questionable, Wright is set to step in. He ran a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.”
It was announced by Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel that Mostert will be out Thursday night with a chest injury where Achane seemed more likely as he's nursing an ankle injury.
“Raheem, no. De’Von, we’ll see how it plays out today,” McDaniel said Wednesday per the team's transcripts. “Thursday night games are probably the – it probably should be your triggering point, because I (don’t know). You got to realize – what is today? Today is Wednesday, right? OK, guys are just typically – when we do have padded practices, we don’t even have them until Thursday because typically, after an NFL game, Wednesday, guys are still working through their ailments from the game previous. So there’s several guys that we’ll be feeling out and we’ll go from there.”
Dolphins rookie ready to make impact after being inactive in Week 1
If there is a bright side for the Dolphins running back in Mostert, it's that he doesn't need to go on the injured reserve list as the issue doesn't appear to be long-term. Achane on the other hand will test the injury right before the game to see if he can go, which no doubt leads to more usage for the rookie in Wright.
The Texas Longhorns product was drafted with the Dolphins' fourth round pick where per the run-on joke of which players McDaniel likes, he is extremely fast. As Schulz said in his social media post, he ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but was a healthy scratch for the opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Miami offensive coordinator Frank Smith explained the decision.
“Whenever you get a healthy inactive, it goes into what are the needs of the roster and where do you need guys,” Smith said Tuesday. “And a lot of the times, it’s special teams needs, defensive needs, what style of offense you’re playing, so there’s multiple variables that go into decisions or who’s inactive. But he’s done a great job, we’re really excited about him. All of our players, we’re really excited about these guys and how we’re going to play, especially this week versus a division rival in Buffalo.”
It remains to be seen how much Wright plays as besides Achane, veteran Jeff Wilson Jr. is likely to get work as the Dolphins look to start the season 2-0 and get a win against an AFC East rival in Buffalo.
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