The Miami Dolphins will be severely shorthanded offensively in Sunday’s Week 15 matchup with the New England Patriots.
Wide receivers DeVante Parker and Jakeem Grant and tight end Mike Gesicki all are inactive against the Patriots after suffering injuries in last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Left guard Ereck Flowers also is inactive for Miami.
Parker, Gesicki and Grant rank 1-2-3 among Dolphins players in receiving yards this season. Miami also will be without wideout Preston Grant (fourth), who is on injured reserve, and top running back Myles Gaskin (fifth), who is on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
These absences leave the Dolphins with a receiving corps of Lynn Bowden Jr., Mack Hollins, Malcolm Perry and Isaiah Ford, who was elevated from the practice squad. Ford was traded to the Patriots at the trade deadline but released before playing a snap for New England.
The Patriots had hoped to re-sign Ford to their practice squad, but he opted to take the same role in Miami, where he spent his first 3 1/2 NFL seasons.
Miami also elevated tight end Chris Myarick from the practice squad to join Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen.
Of those seven players, Ford has had the most productive season despite appearing in just seven games, catching 18 passes for 184 yards before his trade. Bowden, a multitalented rookie who played receiver and quarterback at Kentucky, had a career day last Sunday with seven catches for 82 yards against the Chiefs.
That’s a rough group of receiving options for Tua Tagovailoa, who is trying to become the first rookie quarterback to defeat the Patriots since 2013.
