MIAMI GARDENS — As Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill is lost for the season with his significant knee injury suffered in Monday night’s win over the New York Jets, the team made a move Tuesday to bring in an outside receiver.
And it’s a familiar name for the Dolphins under coach Mike McDaniel. Cedrick Wilson Jr. is being signed off the New Orleans Saints practice squad, according to an NFL Network report.
The move occurred a mere minutes after McDaniel said it was possible his team would bring in an outside option.
“We’re always deep diving on that,” McDaniel said. “We have discussions on what’s out there anytime a player gets injured, and then we assess short-term, long-term relative to our own assets. We’ll be looking at that. I know (general manager) Chris (Grier) and his staff are as we speak, and there could be potentially be something.”
Wilson spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Dolphins, totaling 34 receptions for 432 yards and two touchdowns. It was an underwhelming tenure after he signed a three-year, $22.8 million deal to join Miami from the Dallas Cowboys in that 2022 offseason.
He spent 2024 with the Saints, where he had 20 catches for 211 yards and a touchdown in 15 games, four starts, but he has been relegated to New Orleans’ practice squad thus far this season.
Bringing in a receiver off another team doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of trust in Miami’s in-house options.
“I feel very confident in the guys that we have,” McDaniel said before the move. “Does someone make us better in the short term? That’s a different conversation.”
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Without Hill, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle will have to step up as a No. 1 player at the position. The team can also continue to work in tight end Darren Waller after he scored two touchdowns in his debut with the team Monday.
Beyond them, wide receivers Malik Washington, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Dee Eskridge and Tahj Washington can all stand to take on a larger role.
“The reason why they’re here is because we see their ability to help our team,” McDaniel said. “So have the players. What will be coming from internal pressure from the locker room, is those guys being able to operate play in, play out at our standard.”
Strange decision
McDaniel detailed what led to in-season signing Cole Strange to start at right guard Monday against the Jets.
“He was very impressive in how he took to adapting to our system,” said McDaniel of Strange, who signed with Miami on Sept. 9. “A lot of times, what we ask players to do, there’s some distinct differences in how you play, play in, play out. You can learn a lot about a player simply by how much they dive in, almost trustfall with the schematic and the technique, fundamental focus.”
Strange became the Dolphins’ fourth different player at right guard and third different starter in four games. McDaniel was pleased with how he played after earning the start.
“What was really impressive about him was how bold he was,” McDaniel said, “and from the first individual (rep) that he had, he jumped off the screen and his teammates could feel, ‘OK, this is why this guy’s here.’ Can’t say enough about his preparation. It’s difficult to start in a new offense, regardless of how many accredited seasons you have. … I was very happy with his performance.”
Miami’s starting right guard James Daniels was injured three plays into the season, due to a pectoral ailment in the Sept. 7 season opener. Kion Smith relieved him and started the following two games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills. During the loss to the Bills, Daniel Brunskill was subbed in for Smith. With the position up for grabs in practice last week, Strange got the nod.
Daniels is on injured reserve for at least another week to serve his minimum four games on IR. McDaniel said Daniels is “progressing,” but the team will still need to evaluate Daniels going into next week.
— As kicker Jason Sanders and offensive lineman Andrew Meyer are both eligible to return after spending four weeks on IR, McDaniel said neither will be back on the practice field this week, although they are “approaching” their respective returns.
