MIAMI GARDENS Any potential return for Miami Dolphins guard James Daniels this season seems doubtful. Daniels injured a pectoral muscle three plays into the season in the Sept. 7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts to open the year, hasn’t been seen since and might not be seen at all before season’s end. As the Dolphins (4-7) enter Week 13 of the 18-week regular season, facing the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, Daniels still has no return in sight. “I have no timetable on James Daniels,” coach Mike McDaniel said Monday, as his team returned from the bye week that followed an overseas trip to Madrid, Spain. “I don’t want to arbitrarily say he is or he isn’t (playing this season), but I don’t really know if he will return or not. So that’s kind of where I’m at.” Daniels was the Dolphins’ highest-priced free agent pickup this offseason, with Miami dishing out three years and $24 million on him when free agency opened in March. The same day Daniels was placed on injured reserve, Sept. 9, Cole Strange was signed onto the roster. Kion Smith started the following two games at Daniels’ vacated right guard spot, with him getting pulled late in the Sept. 18 loss in Buffalo for Daniel Brunskill. Strange has started the eight games since. Miami’s offensive line has been without Daniels and right tackle Austin Jackson since that opener against the Colts, with Jackson exiting with a toe injury in the second half. Larry Borom has filled in formidably at right tackle in Jackson’s absence, playing especially well against the Commanders in the Dolphins’ last game. But with Jackson working his way back from IR in his practice window, it doesn’t appear in the cards for Borom to kick inside to guard, where he does possess some previous experience given his versatility. “I think Larry has the ability to do that. He has the mind and the size,” McDaniel said, while noting he’s been pleased with Strange, “but I think what’s been kind of under the radar is, over the last handful of weeks, specifically, we’ve gotten tremendous play out of our right guard. I don’t have a problem on my radar to solve at this stage.” Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith said Monday moving Borom to guard is not really something in discussions at this time. Borom said he hasn’t played any guard with Miami going all the way back to training camp, when he worked exclusively at tackle. The Dolphins opened up Jackson’s 21-day practice window Nov. 12 to start the practice week in Madrid. After he wasn’t activated ahead of that game, the bye week offered him an extra week of recovery before kicking back into gear this week. “There are more opportunities for him to integrate back into the offense,” McDaniel said. “I’m very excited, as he is, for the uptick and feel very confident about where he’ll be at through the week, as long as there’s no setback. So we’ll progress with aggressive temperance.” Teammates are eager to see Jackson make his return. “With AJ back in the fold, it gives us a spark,” left tackle Patrick Paul said. “He’s definitely a very loud and great leader for us, so I think he’s very impactful in the game. It’s just a great person to have on the field.” But they also appreciate the work Borom has done over the last 10 games. “He’s been more than serviceable,” said Brunskill, who has found his niche as an extra offensive lineman at tight end in jumbo packages. “I think he’s a legit starter in the NFL. We have two right tackles that should be starting on any NFL team.” Paul called Borom “lights out” and an “absolute staple.” And he may be even more impressed with how Strange quickly settled in with the Dolphins. “He’s been here for two months, and he fit right in,” Paul said. “It’s like he’s been here for two years. He’s come in, got adapted to our culture, the way we do things.” Through his solid play, Borom said this season has been “the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” and he appreciates Jackson’s return even if it could mean an end to his starting stretch. “He’s a hell of a player,” Borom said. “Just having him back, it’s going to mean a lot. He’s a good dude. He’s a good friend of mine.” With Jackson working back, second-year interior offensive lineman Andrew Meyer, who has been on injured reserve since the start of the season, could begin practicing soon, too. “We’ll be opening a window at some point in the near future,” McDaniel said. “Whether that’s this, next, or the following (week), we’ll see how that progresses. But I’m encouraged by that.” Veteran reserve Liam Eichenberg has been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since the start of camp, and McDaniel added some context to his situation. “I wouldn’t say a setback,” he said. “It was grinding through a labor-some process and trying to make sure that there’s not gigantic setbacks. Sometimes, the progression isn’t as fast as you hope for Liam Eichenberg. It was a no-win situation, in terms of his body wouldn’t respond to him as fast as he’d want it to, regardless, because of who Liam is. He’s working diligently, but I don’t have the Andrew Meyer optimism.”.
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