Dolphins’ Fuller sidelined. And Waddle trying to recapture yards-after-catch magic

A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Wednesday:

▪ After finally making his Dolphins debut last Sunday, receiver Will Fuller has been sidelined again — this time because of elbow and chest injuries.

Fuller appeared to be injured after he couldn’t catch a pass in the end zone in overtime against the Raiders; it looked like defensive pass interference but a penalty wasn’t called.

Fuller missed practice Wednesday, three days after catching three passes for 20 yards — and a big two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter — against Las Vegas.

It’s unclear if Fuller will be able to play Sunday against visiting Indianapolis (1 p.m, CBS). If he cannot, that would create playing time for Albert Wilson and/or Preston Williams, who were both inactive for last weekend’s game.

Fuller missed the Dolphins’ opener while serving the final game of a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy. He missed the second game because of a personal issue.

Fuller is due to make $10.6 million this season, with another $3 million in incentives.

Two Dolphins were limited in Wednesday’s practice due to injury: linebacker Jerome Baker (hamstring) and center Michael Deiter (foot/quad).

▪ The Colts (0-3) have major injury issues. All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson sat out Wednesday’s practice with ankle and knee injuries, and coach Frank Reich said his chances of playing against Miami don’t look good.

All-Pro Bowl linebacker Darius Leonard also missed practice with an ankle injury.

Six other Colts sat out Wednesday’s practice due to injury: tight end Jack Doyle, defensive end Kwity Paye, tackle Braden Smith, safety Braden Willis, defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.

Meanwhile, quarterback Carson Wentz (both ankles) and running back Jonathan Taylor (knee) were both limited.

▪ Dolphins rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle averaged 9.8 yards after the catch in his career at Alabama, highest among all Power 5 receivers with at least 100 receptions since 2014.

But as a Dolphin, Waddle has averaged only 4.1 yards after catch, producing 91 YAC yards (30th in the league) on 22 receptions (which are tied for fifth most in the league).

Against Las Vegas, his 58 receiving yards were the fewest ever by a wide receiver with at least 12 catches in a game.

“I can do more after the catch,” he said Wednesday. “Trying to make someone miss is where it starts.”

The good news is he’s getting open: He has caught 22 of his 26 targets.

But his 7.6 average yards per catch ranks just 126th in the league; he averaged 18.9 yards per reception at Alabama.

“He’s an extremely talented player — good hands, extremely fast, quick in and out of breaks, can impact a game on offense and in special teams,” tight end Mike Gesicki said Wednesday.

But Waddle said he knows “I can do more.”

▪ Though left tackle Austin Jackson permitted six quarterback pressures and committed two key penalties against Las Vegas, his performance wasn’t as poor as the previous week against Buffalo.

“I definitely was more consistent in my pass pro, technique-wise, in terms of just doing the right thing,” he said Wednesday.

In Jackson’s defense, he missed a week battling COVID-19 before his season debut against the Bills.

“I’m not making any excuses or anything,” he said, “but I definitely felt the difference having a couple of weeks under my belt going into this last game.”

▪ Because Gesicki has a close relationship with tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator George Godsey (the Dolphins’ presumed play-caller), does he feel more comfortable lobbying for passes with Godsey than he did with predecessor Chan Gailey?

“I think there’s points throughout the game where obviously you think you have this matchup or you think you can do that or this; but for the most part, I try to stay in my own lane just like everybody else,” he said. “You’ve just got to trust in the coaching because they spend a lot of time up here, a lot of hours watching film.”

The two shovel passes to Gesicki marked the first time that played was used with Gesicki since a 2018 game against Detroit, when Adam Gase called it.

▪ The Dolphins are blitzing 44.3 percent of the time — most in the league — but have only four sacks, which is tied for fourth fewest in the NFL.

The good news? The Dolphins are sixth in pressure rate (40.2 percent), up from 32 percent last season, per Pro Football Focus. Emmanuel Ogbah has 15 pressures and half a sack.; he had nine sacks in 2020.

And PFF noted that “no defense has forced opposing quarterbacks to throw the ball away more than the Dolphins, whose stable of cornerbacks has helped create eight such plays.”

▪ Quick stuff: Quarterback Jacoby Brissett downplayed starting against his former team on Sunday: “I’m not here for like a revenge game or anything like that.”...

Though NFL teams are permitted each week to protect four practice squad players from poaching by other teams, Miami opted to protect only two players this week, according to the league: linebacker Calvin Munson and veteran defensive end Jabaal Sheard….

Sunday’s game will be seen in all of Florida except Tampa and St. Petersburg; Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky, with Spero Dedes and Jay Feely on the call. Here are full Week 4 maps.

Here’s my Wednesday piece with news from Brian Flores and a look at how two offensive linemen jettisoned by the Dolphins this season are outperforming Miami’s current offensive linemen.

Here’s my Wednesday piece with good stuff from my interview with Heat guard Tyler Herro about changes in his life.