Yes, the keyword is “may” because nothing is official at this time, but unlike last week when Connor Williams was limited in practice every day, Connor has yet to practice this week, and no they aren’t veteran rest days. He legit hasn’t practiced and if he doesn’t practice on Friday odds are we are looking at Liam Eichenberg starting at center this weekend vs the Carolina Panthers.
The last time Eichenberg started at center, the only time in his career, was two weeks ago vs the Buffalo Bills. Eichenberg gave up two sacks and had two penalties called against him, and some say he is the reason Terron Armstead got injured again.
The Dolphins’ offensive line has surprised many this season with their play as it has been nothing short of fantastic. With that said, the one week it didn’t look great was Week 4 in the loss to Buffalo, when Eichenberg was on the field. Now, was it all his fault? No, of course not, the entire team struggled.
But the Dolphins’ lack of depth at center is alarming. Connor Williams has been fantastic but this is only his second season playing the position. Both Miami back-ups Eichenberg and Lester Cotton have never snapped a ball before in a real game until this season. And Cotton has yet to at this time still.
Miami did sign Dan Feeney in March as a free agent and he was a veteran who has played and started in this league at center and guard, but they traded him away for little in return back in late August. Which was head-scratching at the time only because Miami didn’t have a true backup center.
Fans and media types waited for Miami to make a move to bring in a proven #2 center, but it never happened.
Liam has struggled since entering the NFL and hasn’t found success yet. He has bounced around and played all five positions on the offensive line through the first 3 seasons of his young career.
It was recently reported that Liam had created a “burner account” on social media to defend his play. It appeared the account was active in 2021, Liam’s rookie season, but just became active again in early October. Whether that account belongs to Eichenberg cannot be confirmed at this time, but it appears to be his or at least someone who is close to him.
So, we will see if Connor Williams can give it a go Friday at practice, if so there is a good chance he will start. If he doesn’t practice though, we may be on the Liam Eichenberg roller coaster again this week as he will be put into a starting role, at a position he has little to no experience at.
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