MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line, which was down to one starter by the second quarter of Sunday’s 31-17 victory over New England, remains in flux for this Sunday’s game against Kansas City in Germany due mainly to the status of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead and right guard Robert Hunt.
But good news might be on the way, and that’s good considering the winner of the Dolphins (6-2) and Chiefs (6-2) game gets the head-to-head tiebreaker, if necessary, for homefield advantage in the playoffs.
Armstead, who has missed six of Miami’s eight games this season, is scheduled to practice in Germany at some point this week and has a chance to play against Kansas City, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
“I can say this,” McDaniel began regarding Armstead, “we’ll probably be evaluating Terron Armstead’s performance in another country other than the United States this week.”
Aside from that, the secondary, which was without two starters for the Patriots game — safety Jevon Holland (concussion protocol) and Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard (groin) — also remains undecided for the Kansas City game.
After that, players have bumps and bruises, the most significant of which is tight end Durham Smythe, who was seen wearing a walking boot, and for the most part are considered day-to-day.
“It’s hard during the game to assess the severity of anything because he’s so tough and is willing to play through whatever that he probably says less and (trainers) kind of manage when he tells them he shouldn’t be managed, which is the way you want people to be,” McDaniel. “But he’ll battle through that and I definitely wouldn’t bet against Durham Smythe playing in any game.”
So far, Denver is the only game the Dolphins have played with their offensive line starting five of Armstead, left guard Isaiah Wynn, center Connor Williams, Hunt and right tackle Austin Jackson.
But they could have four of the five for the Chiefs game. Wynn remains on the injured reserve with a quadriceps injury he sustained against Philadelphia.
Although it appears the Dolphins have been a little more cautious with injury returns this year with a goal of being as healthy as possible in December and January, McDaniel said it’s on a case-by-case basis.
“The more knowledge you have, the more you invest into them, the more you can kind of properly assess, ‘Hey, well, this didn’t work out in this way for this individual for this reason. OK, let’s adjust it either way,’ ” McDaniel said.
“So there’s been times that we’ve been a little on the aggressive end and there’s been a lot of times that we’ve been on the conservative end. All just adjusting to the facts as the facts change and as we get more of them.”
Armstead, who hasn’t practiced since September and hasn’t played since the Buffalo game five weeks ago, was last listed with back, knee and ankle ailments although he left the Bills game with an ankle ailment.
Meanwhile, Hunt (hamstring) is a “day-to-day” evaluation, according to McDaniel. Hunt left the Patriots game in the second quarter and didn’t return.
The normally affable and always-available Hunt politely declined an interview request after the game.
It seems likely that Williams (groin), who was in uniform as an emergency center for the Patriots game, will practice this week and has a good chance to play against the Chiefs. Williams practiced last week on a limited basis.
The offensive line made numerous adjustments against New England. It started Lester Cotton at left guard but after Hunt was injured Cotton moved to right guard and Robert Jones, playing in his first game of the season since being activated from injured reserve, played left guard.
And after Kendall Lamm, who’s een starting in place of Armstead, left the game briefly seldom-used Kion Smith manned that spot. Lamm returned and finished the game.
The secondary, which got a boost from All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey’s return, has a chance to get back its other top players in Howard and Holland.
McDaniel said Holland remains in concussion protocol, which he entered last Monday, and is “doing well.”
McDaniel wasn’t asked about Howard but he was seen on the field before the New England game running sprints and he practiced on a limited basis last week.
Another safety, Brandon Jones, seems fine after absorbing a brutal hit in the Patriots game. The secondary got an additional boost as cornerback Nik Needham made his season debut after sustaining an Achilles injury last season.
And finishing up on the defense, linebacker David Long Jr. and defensive tackle Zach Sieler are both day-to-day, according to McDaniel. Long and Sieler both had brief visits to the blue injury tent during the Patriots game but both returned to the field.
