Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield said he took a little extra pleasure in last Sunday’s win over the Jets because “their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina” during the 2022 season.
Steve Wilks is the defensive coordinator that Mayfield was referring to and he got a chance to respond during a press conference on Friday. Wilks became the interim head coach for the Panthers when they fired Matt Ruhle on October and he referenced another transaction the team made 10 days later when explaining that he wasn’t in charge of the roster while in the interim role.
“I don’t think an interim coach has much say over personnel,” Wilks said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have gotten rid of our best player, Christian McCaffrey.”
Mayfield was injured the day before Ruhle was fired and he appeared in two games under Wilks before asking for and receiving his release because the team was going with P.J. Walker at quarterback. That and Wilks’ level of control add some context to the story, but the period obviously added to the chip on Mayfield’s shoulder and he’s put it to good use since getting to Tampa.
While tight end Darren Waller has not yet played for the Dolphins since coming out of retirement over the summer, he’s on track to be on the field for Monday night’s matchup against the Jets.
Miami is expecting Waller to add a dynamic element to the team’s offense, as illustrated by receiver Jaylen Waddle’s comments when asked about Waller on Thursday.
“Waller is special,” Waddle said, via transcript from the team. “He goes out there and I’m just amazed at how big he is and can move like that, gets out of his routes real smooth like a big receiver out there. Go out there and jump and grabbing balls out of the air.
“He’s a tremendous talent and I can’t wait for him to go out there and watch him perform.”
Waller last played for the Giants in 2023, catching 52 passes for 552 yards with one touchdown in 12 games with 11 starts. Waller’s best season was in 2020, when he tallied 107 receptions for 1,196 yards with nine TDs.
In the aftermath of the Week 3 loss to Buffalo, Miami head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters that he was expecting tight end Darren Waller to make his season debut in Week 4.
A week after that game, though, Waller has not yet progressed to being a full participant in practice.
Waller (hip) was limited for Thursday’s session, according to the team’s injury report. Before practice, McDaniel was asked about the approach Miami is taking with Waller when it comes to practice time.
“We’re just trying to be smart,” McDaniel said. “He’s going to be working football to the level of how many reps he gets in practice. That’s what we adjust, or just depending on, really feedback, you go back and forth between moderation and full participation. After that practice and on Wednesday, and kind of the situations that we’re planning for him, we have a very well-planned high-low process. So, he will do less than he did the other day, but that level is finely, through a fine-tooth comb, trying to get him all the full-speed work at all the plays he’ll be participating in.”
Waller came out of retirement over the summer to play for the Dolphins after sitting out the 2024 season.
Elsewhere on the Dolphins’ injury report, receiver Jaylen Waddle (shoulder) was limited. Waddle was listed as limited throughout last week’s injury report before playing on Thursday night.
Cornerback Storm Duck (ankle) and cornerback Jason Marshall (hamstring) did not participate.
Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (calf) was a full participant.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said on Thursday that quarterback Justin Fields will start against the Dolphins on Monday night if he clears the concussion protocol and the team’s injury report shows that there’s a good chance of that happening.
Fields practiced for the first time since being injured in a Week 2 loss to the Bills and the Jets listed him as a full participant. That signals that he is close to getting cleared and the next two days will bring more updates about his condition.
Tyrod Taylor started Week 3’s loss to the Buccaneers and will be in line to start again if Fields does not wind up getting the green light.
Newly acquired cornerback Jarvis Brownlee missed practice with the ankle injury that kept him from playing for the Titans last Sunday. Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson (ankle) was also out of practice Thursday.
Safety Tony Adams (hip), running back Kene Nwangwu (hamstring), wide receiver Josh Reynolds (hamstring), and defensive lineman Jay Tufele (illness) were limited participants.
The Jets did not win last week’s matchup with the Buccaneers.
But New York did make one of the league’s most electric plays of the week, blocking a late Bucs field goal and returning it for a touchdown.
That also resulted in Jets head coach Aaron Glenn going viral for his sideline dance moves during and after the play.
In his Thursday press conference, Glenn said that’s just who he is.
“Here’s what I do know … I’m gonna always be me,” Glenn said, via SNY. “And listen, these guys need someone that’s going to show that they believe in them, that’s going to show they’re proud of them when they make plays.
“I’ll tell you what, if I probably didn’t do that, my wife and kids would’ve said, ‘What’s happening? What’s going on with you?’ And I’m glad that I’m gonna never be fake. I’m always gonna be me. Some people like it, some people don’t — it doesn’t matter. But I’m glad that people did see me, my authentic self, no matter what. And I don’t know what it means [if someone said], ‘The head coach is supposed to act like that?’ How is the head coach supposed to act? I don’t know. But it was good. It was good.”
Glenn and the Jets will try to get their first win of the season on Monday night against the division-rival Dolphins.
