Robert Hunt is out of his comfort zone.
The Miami Dolphins' starting right guard is accustomed to being on the field for practices and games. Before this season he'd never missed a game, but for the past three weeks Hunt has resided in the training room after suffering a right hamstring injury, which has sidelined him from the past two games.
"I take pride in playing every game. I've been doing it a long time. I take pride in not being in the training room," said Hunt, who has spent the practice sessions the past three weeks working on the side with a trainer. "It's been different for sure."
Hunt, a pending free agent who has started 53 of the 58 NFL games he's played, intended to participate in Tuesday's walk-through, and Wednesday's lone practice for the week, hoping to be cleared to play in Friday's road game against the New York Jets.
"I'm just trying to get it better each day. There's some stuff I want to try out," Hunt said about Wednesday's practice. "I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow. I'm trying to let it heal. Taking it one day at a time and seeing how it feels each day."
Hunt needs McDaniel's clearance to play
Even if Hunt looks decent moving around, there's no guarantee he'll be cleared to play in Friday's game because of how cautious coach Mike McDaniel is with injuries, with the goal of having his best players available and healthy for the final stretch of the season.
"When you get soft tissues with linemen, you just think about blocking someone and it’s really hard to protect yourself when you’re straining in a direction and then he uses his hands to try to disengage and you have to redirect," McDaniel said last week, explaining why Hunt wasn't allowed to practice. "If you stood up right now and we just got into a blocking drill, even if I’d be easy to block, you’d still be able to tell, ‘Hey, if I had a sore hamstring, this might be bad.’”
Leaning on Eichenberg again
If Hunt isn't cleared to play, the Dolphins likely would have Liam Eichenberg start his sixth game of the season, 32nd of his career, and second ever at right guard.
"I thought he held his own. For a guy who never played the position, he battled. He was a warrior out there," Hunt said about Eichenberg. "It didn't look bad at all."
Lester Cotton is settling in at left guard, filling in for Isaiah Wynn, who suffered what appears to be a season-ending quadricep injury. The Dolphins hope that Cotton will continue to blossom at that spot playing between Terron Armstead and Connor Williams.
"It's been a tough time for the trenches this year, (especially) the middle three," Hunt said, referring to the series of injuries the offensive line has endured.
Armstead, Miami's Pro Bowl left tackle, has started just four games this season because of two separate injuries, one to his foot and one to his knee.
Wynn has missed the past three games and isn't expected back from injured reserve.
Robert Jones suffering his second knee injury in Week 9 against Kansas City, and has been limited to three games this season. It's doubtful that he'll be available for the Jets game. Eichenberg broke his ribs in the preseason, but has been healthy enough to play in every game. And Williams, the Dolphins' starting center, was sidelined by a groin strain for a month.
Because of all the injuries, the Dolphins have had seven different starting combinations on the offensive line this season.
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