Friday injury report

Eight Miami Dolphins players sat out of practice Thursday. Most — but not all — of them returned on Friday.

That’s an encouraging sign — and the latest data point that proves the Dolphins are always going to err on the side of caution with injuries (at least during the regular season). We go through it all on our Friday Miami Dolphins practice report and injury update.

Miami Dolphins Practice Report
Per the Miami Herald, one of several outlets present for Friday’s practice, there were just two players not spotted during the portion open to reporters:

Guard Robert Hunt (hamstring) and linebacker Jerome Baker (knee).

Those two almost certainly will not play Monday night against the Tennessee Titans, although more clarity will come Saturday. But on balance, Friday was a pretty encouraging day from a Dolphins health perspective. Six players who did not work Thursday reportedly returned Friday:

• WR Tyreek Hill (ankle/vet rest)
• S Jevon Holland (knees)
• RB Raheem Mostert (knee/vet rest)
• OT Terron Armstead (knee/ankle)
• OT Kendall Lamm (back/vet rest)
• TE Durham Smythe (ankle)

Hill and Mostert were expected to be present.

They are in a routine now, getting rest on the first day of the practice week before returning for the second.

But there was certainly some uncertainty regarding Armstead — who has dealt with three different injuries over the past month — and Holland.

It’s still too soon to say whether either will be available in Week 14, but apparently, the Dolphins have not ruled them out.

If Hunt and Baker cannot go, it’ll be some combination of Liam Eichenberg and Lester Cotton at the two guard spots and a lot of Duke Riley at off-ball linebacker.

When asked about his strengths earlier in the week, Riley replied:

“Just my ability to play fast, knowing that everybody’s going to do their job. My speed, my energy, and my communication skills, and stuff like that. Everything like that, just my game; not just for me, but for everybody. As long as everybody’s on the same page and I get everybody lined up and I make the right call and we’re all on the same page.”