A quick six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Saturday, heading into Sunday’s game at Atlanta (1 p.m., CBS 4):
▪ The Dolphins on Saturday elevated tight end Hayden Rucci and cornerback Kendall Sheffield from the practice squad, making them available for Sunday’s game at Atlanta (1 p.m., CBS 4).
Rucci, who signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in April 2024, is set to make his NFL debut. With Darren Waller (pectoral injury) and Julian Hill (ankle) both sidelined Sunday, Rucci figures to be Miami’s No. 3 tight end behind Tanner Conner and Greg Dulcich.
This will be the second of three maximum elevations for Sheffield.
The Dolphins on Saturday ruled out cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., who had been listed as questionable. He will be given at least another week to work himself back from a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve a month ago. Marshall has been designated to return this season; Miami has 18 more days to bring him off IR.
Meanwhile, ESPN reported that it’s “highly likely” that Kirk Cousins will start against the Dolphins on Sunday because starter Michael Penix Jr. is dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee.
The 37-year-old Cousins, the NFL’s highest-paid backup quarterback, was benched last season after throwing a league-high 16 interceptions (compared with 18 touchdowns) in 14 starts, with Atlanta going 7-7 over those games before they turned to Penix, the team’s first round pick last year. Cousins has appeared in only one game this season, a 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers, and closed five for seven for 29 yards.
Also, NFL Network reported that Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson will miss Sunday’s game against Chicago because of a hamstring injury but is expected to play Thursday at the Dolphins (8:20 p.m., Amazon Prime, CBS 4).
▪ Ollie Gordon had been five for five (for 20 yards) on 3rd and 1 or 2 before coming up short on a third and two against Cleveland. But he then converted a fourth and one, meaning he’s 6 for 7 this season on converting third and fourth and short runs.
He says the key with those short-yardage chances is “getting downhill. Everyone else has to get out of the way when that happens.”
Gordon, who averaged 5.4 at Oklahoma State and more than four yards per carry in preseason, is averaging just 2.5 (28 for 70). Why isn’t that average higher?
“Offensive line, tight ends, it’s all a composite of everything ...We miss holes at times,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “Ollie has done a great job on short yardage and moving sticks. I don’t have a concern with him missing anything.”
Smith pointed out that when Gordon gains a yard on a third and short, it’s a successful run but drags down his average.
▪ Former NFL MVP Kurt Warner is fed up with the Dolphins offense: “Oh my Goodness, Miami is a mess offensively!!! Details are all over, no idea how they are connecting concepts, Tua is struggling… throwing a few INTs is one thing, but the nature of many of these are based on him not seeing the field and missing reads all over! And coaches can we pretty, please stop chipping our hot wide receivers so the QB is left out to dry vs pressure.”
▪ Warner said Tagovaloa’s interception on a throw from the end zone against Cleveland was a situation where he was “stuck in pocket with nowhere to go with ball. So he does what QBs do in those situations, makes a dumb decision [because] he has no way out and he ends up looking stupid!”
Cedrick Wilson Jr., who was Tagovailoa’s teammate during the two best years of his career (2022 and 2023) and is now back with the team, insisted last week that “he’s the same guy” that he was in 2022 and 2023.
“He’s always cool, calm, collected. The way he throws the ball is very catchable.” He attributes this Tagovailoa slump to the “ebbs and flows of football. Sometimes you’re on, sometimes you’re off. He’s going through his progressions. He just has to start connecting and all the negativity will subside.”
▪ ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, on the Dolphins: “This is a roster devoid of high-end talent. The defense is very much devoid of talent. It’s not like [you] fire Mike McDaniel, hire a new coach and all of a sudden it will be a winning team.”
Former Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was Tagovailoa’s teammate during his rookie season, said on Amazon Prime’s postgame show on Thursday that it appears as if Tagovailoa has lost some confidence and encouraged him to watch tape of three games he played well last season, at home against the Raiders, Patriots and Jets.
▪ Before now-healthy safety Elijah Campbell injured his quadriceps in a practice 2 1/2 weeks ago, the Dolphins had planned to use him some at nickel cornerback.
“It was unfortunate timing but that’s the game,” Campbell said.
He played some nickel cornerback when he joined the Dolphins in 2021, but that was in a different defensive system.
“I have full confidence to play any position,” he said. Campbell -- who is no longer on the injury report -- has played three defensive snaps this season and 281 over his 4 1/2 seasons in Miami.