EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMiami Dolphins wide receiver Caleb Douglas will miss Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, coach Jeff Hafley said Friday, leaving Miami without its leading receiver for at least this week.Douglas left last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers with an ankle injury and did not return; despite initial speculation that he was held out because the game was out of reach, the rookie did not practice at all this week and Hafley confirmed he will not play Sunday.The third-round pick out of Texas Tech has established himself as the team's leading receiver since early August, and currently leads the team with seven catches for 113 yards through two games. His absence could prove problematic for a Dolphins offense that ranks 24th in yards per game.Without Douglas on the field, Miami could look to wide receivers Malik Washington and fellow rookie Chris Bell -- who Hafley said the team "feels good" about playing Sunday despite a pair of limited practices this week. Bell told reporters that he felt some residual soreness in his surgically repaired knee but would do everything he could to play this week.The third-round pick said doctors advised him the soreness and fluid in his knee was normal after tearing his ACL last December.Miami will also likely turn to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, who signed a one-year deal with the team this offseason but has been a healthy scratch in its first two games.Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said that injuries at the position won't impact the game plan; the more prevalent concern is players' chemistry with quarterback Malik Willis."We know their strengths, we know what they're good at, we know places we could put them in where they can still go take advantage of what their skills are," Slowik said Thursday. "It's more the rapport, like Malik and them being on the same page. Because there's a lot of play in the NFL these days where the quarterback's got to let it go before you can really telegraph what it is you're doing ... So that's the biggest thing, making sure Malik and the receivers feel comfortable with each other, get on the same page, feel how the ball's coming out from Malik, feel how guys are coming out of their breaks, just so we could be confident and just when we get to game day, we're letting it rip."In preparation to play without Douglas, the Dolphins also signed receiver A.J. Henning to their practice squad. Henning spent last season with the team and training camp this summer before he was ultimately released at the end of August.Douglas won't be the only Dolphins player to miss Sunday's game. Hafley said defensive end Robert Beal Jr. won't play as he nurses a hamstring injury, and running back Jaylen Wright is considered doubtful after suffering a stinger in last week's game against San Francisco.
