Chris Bell Shows Out in Caleb Douglas’ Absence

Chris Bell Shows Out in Caleb Douglas’ Absence

With Caleb Douglas on the shelf with an ankle injury, some wide receiver had to step up for the Miami Dolphins against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, and it just so happened to be fellow rookie wideout Chris Bell. He caught four of seven targets for a team-high 67 yards in a game that was closer than the final score of 24-10 suggests.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Douglas was the leading receiver and easily quarterback Malik Willis’ favorite target. He totaled seven catches for 113 yards in his first two games as a Dolphin, with most of those coming in his historically stellar debut. Against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1, he compiled 94 yards receiving and set the record for the most yards in the air in a Dolphins rookie debut.

However, Douglas left Week 2’s game against the San Francisco 49ers with a right ankle injury and subsequently did not practice at all this past week. His absence left the door open for Bell to have a “welcome to the NFL” type of performance, and he sure did.

This was Bell’s first super meaningful opportunity to contribute at the highest level after he played in the shadow of Douglas the opening two weeks of the season. Simply not a whole lot of plays were drawn up for him against the Raiders and 49ers, as he made just one catch in that span, though it was one for a large gain of 25 yards.

What makes Bell’s performance against a great Chiefs defense all the more impressive is that he was limited in practice last week. He was limited by fluid and soreness in his knee. Remember, he tore his ACL back in November of 2025, back when he was still playing at the collegiate level for the University of Louisville.