Dolphins declare Jalen Tolbert inactive for Week 1

The Dolphins will be without Douglas, one of their two talented rookie wide receivers, against the Vikings’ top-tier defense today. He is sidelined by an ankle injury. Joly, the Dolphins’ rookie tight end, is inactive after making his debut last week. Cook wil serve as the team’s emergency third quarterback.

Robinson remains in concussion protocol and was ruled out earlier in the week. Interestingly, Jalen Tolbert remains unable to be active on a Dolphins team that is hurting for weapons on offense. A lot of it has to do with him not having a clear role on special teams.

Cook joins starter Malik Willis and recent acquisition Kyle McCord in the pecking order at quarterback for the Dolphins, with the assumption that McCord will serve as the primary backup on game days during the regular season. Either way, Cook now gets a fresh start after four starts across five appearances for the Jets during his rookie season. Tight end Justin Joly also joins the Dolphins after being released by the Broncos. The team kept four tight ends through final cuts, making the path to a roster spot more muddied, but he lands on his feet after being forced to contemplate a potential practice squad spot in Denver. Also claimed were DB Marcellus Dial, T Chukwuebuka Godrick, T Jarrett Kingston, DB Reese Taylor, and DB Julius Wood.

9NEWS’ Mike Klis writes that Joly “clearly” could use a redshirt year, which isn’t exactly great news for his dynasty prospects. We’ll see if another team wants to take a chance on him rather than letting him join Denver’s practice squad. Joly was a fifth-round pick this past year and it’s rare for teams to cut picks this early, but Denver’s roster is loaded.

Furones also lists Greg Dulcich as a player that was a primary receiver for Willis, but we’ve done plenty of offseason hype on Dulcich. Tolbert appears to be a potential “someone has to catch a ball here” deep league pick, as he’s well off the fantasy radar at this point. He’s not off the board among the top-100 wideouts in ADP. The ceiling is likely low, but if he can emerge as the top option amongst Miami’s wideouts, Tolbert could be a viable WR3/WR4 at points this year.

Oh, boy. Kelly giveth and taketh away. On the one hand, Kelly believes Tolbert “seems ready to handle the split end, possession receiver role.” On the other hand, Kelly thinks Tolbert is a replacement-level player. Tolbert has cleared 275 receiving yards just once in his four-year career. Kelly is probably right. If Tolbert can become the clear-cut No. 1 target, he might be able to return FLEX value, but he could be an extremely volatile producer.

Malik Willis, Hafley said during a Tuesday presser, is still building chemistry with the team’s pass catchers in OTAs and working on timing. That presumably includes Malik Washington, who had 46 catches for 317 yards and three scores last season, and Greg Dulcich, who’s expected by Miami beat writers to “figure heavily” into the team’s passing attack in 2026. Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell could also see heavy snaps in the Miami passing game this season. Tolbert, who flashed in Dallas in 2024 with 610 yards and seven touchdowns, could emerge as the Dolphins’ top pass-catching option with a solid training camp. There likely won’t be much target volume to go around, however, considering the team’s plans to operate a run-heavy offense.

Joly earned first-team All-ACC honors while leading NC State with 49 receptions and seven receiving touchdowns last year. It will be tough for him to earn snaps in year one, with veteran TE Evan Engram in-house, but Joly could compete for a starting role in the long run.

Joly (6’4/241) spent two years at UConn, breaking out in the second with a 52/578/2 receiving line. He then transferred to NC State and upped the ante again with 661 yards and four scores on 43 catches as a junior. Joly’s efficiency plummeted in 2025 and he turned six extra catches into 172 fewer yards, though he did score a career-high seven times. Joly doesn’t have one trait that sticks out as elite, but he can do a lot of things well. He navigates traffic after the catch well but is also aggressive at the catch point, having brought down 66 percent of his career contested targets. The Broncos add Joly as a potential long-term starter in a busy tight end room.

Ravens team reporter Ryan Mink adds that although TE Mark Andrews posted a career-low 422 receiving yards last season, “the Ravens see a rebound in 2026.” DeCosta’s comments could indicate otherwise, though the team lost TEs Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Mink also notes that the Ravens have picked two tight ends in the same draft four times in franchise history: 2022, 2018, 2015 and 2010. DeCosta has been with the Ravens for his whole career, dating back to 1996, and the strategy has worked well for the organization. Mink believes replacing Likely with a receiving tight end could be viewed as a need in the short term. He lists 10 potential draftees, including Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, Ohio State TE Max Klare, Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers, Baylor TE Michael Trigg and NC State TE Justin Joly.