Tyreek Participates In First Practice Since Ankle Injury

Dolphins All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill's status remains unclear despite his participation in Thursday's practice

The Tyreek Hill watch took a favorable turn Thursday when the Miami Dolphins All- Pro receiver participated in practice.

His speed was present, but Hill did struggle shifting gears when trying to slow down during the portions of practice the media attended.

The Dolphins planned to proceed with caution this week all along with the hope that Hill, who has contributed 1,542 yards and scored 12 touchdowns on 97 receptions this season, can return to the lineup against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday after being inactive for the Week 15 victory against the New York Jets because of his injured left ankle.

Coach Mike McDaniel's stance all season has been to not rush players back from injury, particularly when there's a greater than normal chance of aggravation, and that might be even more applicable with Hill given his importance to the offense.

Even though he participated in Thursday's practice, likely on a limited basis, Hill's status for the Dallas game likely won't be determined until very late in the week, if not game day.

McDaniel said Monday that because he ran in pregame warmups Hill was by definition "close" to playing against the Jets.

Hill didn't practice at all last week before testing out his ankle during pregame warmups at Hard Rock Stadium, though the team had only two sessions after playing a Monday night game and one of those was a walk-through.

Xavien Howard returns to practice

Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard, who was held out of the Jets game because of a hip injury, participated in Thursday's practice. 

Howard missed Wednesday's practice, but his involvement in Thursday's session is a good indicator that he might play against the Cowboys.

If Howard doesn't play, it's highly likely that Kader Kohou would work on the boundary in Miami's base package, and Eli Apple would enter the mix in Miami's nickel package.

It's also possible that Jalen Ramsey will shadow Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb, much like he did Garrett Wilson last week against the Jets.

While defended by Ramsey, Wilson was targeted once and Ramsey batted down one pass. Wilson had zero targets in in the first half.

DeShon Elliott cleared for contact

DeShon Elliott is inching closer to clearing the NFL’s concussion protocol.

The Dolphins starting strong safety, who missed last week’s game because of a concussion he suffered in Miami’s loss to the Tennessee Titans the previous week, practiced with a red jersey on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Elliott participated in Miami’s practice in an aqua jersey, which means he can participate in drills that feature contact, whereas the red jersey indicates a player can’t be touched.

There’s a chance Elliott, who has contributed 60 tackles, six pass breakups and recovered one fumble this season, could be joined by Jevon Holland, who has missed three games because of MCL sprains to both his knees suffered in the Black Friday win against the Jets.

However, it’s possible that Holland could be held out an extra week or two because of Miami’s concern that he might suffer a setback that could jeopardize his availability in the final two regular season games, and the postseason.

Holland was absent during the portion of practice the media watched oThursday, but he did participate in the stretching period.

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