Dolphins left tackle Branden Albert is still missing from action with a wrist injury. On Sunday against the 49ers, they also could be without their backup left tackle (and otherwise starting left guard) Laremy Tunsil.
“I won’t know,” coach Adam Gase told reporters on Thursday regarding whether Tunsil, who has a shoulder injury, will play. “It’s going to be to the wire.”
Tunsil participated in practice on a limited basis on Thursday.
“We did what we could with him,” Gase said. “We’ve got time. We’ll see what happens. We’ve got to see how he feels.”
Gase, who said he didn’t know the exact details of the injury, said it’s painful for Tunsil. But whether he plays isn’t an issue of pain tolerance.
“It’s more of how much movement does he have?” Gase said. “That’s the hardest thing. . . . If he has to play left tackle, he has to be able to get his hands on guys. You’re getting hit every play. It’s a little bit of everything. It’s movement; it’s mobility. You’re going to have to really play through some uncomfortable circumstances.”
It will be extremely uncomfortable for the Dolphins if Albert, Tunsil, and center Mike Pouncey are absent. It was the ability of the Dolphins to line up their preferred starters on the offensive line that sparked the team’s current five-game winning streak.
In all, nine Dolphins were limited in practice on Thursday. The only two who didn’t practice were Albert and Pouncey, who has had a recurrence of his hip injury.
