MIAMI GARDENS — Cornerback Rasul Douglas has been a bright spot for the Miami Dolphins defense upon signing in the weeks before the start of the season, but he is in jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game against his former team, the Buffalo Bills.
Douglas was not seen practicing Thursday after he already missed Wednesday’s session with foot and ankle injuries coming from last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
With Jack Jones the starter at the opposite cornerback spot and Storm Duck lost for the season, it may be Ethan Bonner who is the next man up.
“Yeah, for sure,” Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said. “Ethan has gone there and has played admirably for us, so I would expect to see that — some combination of him and potentially Jason Marshall on the outside, too.”
Marshall, a rookie out of Florida, has primarily worked in the slot as the nickel cornerback. Coming back recently from a hamstring injury, Marshall would only go to the boundary in a base package, according to Weaver, so he can remain in the slot once Miami goes to the nickel.
Bonner has grown to rotate in with Jones for some defensive snaps, but now he could man his own side if Douglas is out.
“I think he’s shown consistency,” Weaver said. “He’s a guy that knows exactly what to do. Extremely cerebral, which I think sometimes he can overanalyze things, where you want him to just cut it loose and go make some plays. But the ability’s all there. Sometimes you just got to, ‘Hey, I know what to do.’ Now, go play. Go play and not be like a robot.”
Added secondary coach Brian Duker on Bonner: “Bonner has shown a lot of trust from a scheme standpoint. I very much trust that he’s going to go out and do the right thing and execute it correctly. He’s done a great job in his off-man (coverage). I thought he’s done a great job coming up for us in the run game. (I’ve) been happy with him overall. I think he’s shown the ability to play and help us.”
As for Marshall, coaches trust he’ll handle a switch back to what he’s done most of his life, including with the Gators and Miami Palmetto High, play on the outside.
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“The harder transition, I think, for Jason, just based on his playing history, was going from outside to inside,” Duker said. “He had so much more outside experience in college that this one was probably a little bit more natural for him. We kind of had to put him inside, almost out of need for where we were. That transition was tough, and I thought Jason did a great job with that, but I think that is a hard transition for guys.”
Said Weaver: “He was already learning that job anyway, so that’s where he’ll compete.”
Douglas, in nine games and seven starts this season, has a passer rating against of 82.1 this season. That’s nearly 40 points better than his 2024 season with Buffalo (122.0), when he started 15 games.
Duker highlighted Douglas’ professionalism, technique, feel for the game and ball production, with five pass breakups and a forced fumble this season.
The Dolphins also have JuJu Brents as a cornerback option on the roster. They have Isaiah Johnson and Ethan Robinson on the practice squad.
Elsewhere on the roster, Miami was again without outside linebacker Chop Robinson (concussion protocol) at Thursday’s practice, although he made an appearance out of uniform on the side. Wide receiver and return specialist Dee Eskridge (shoulder) also missed Thursday drills.
This story will be updated.
