Head coach Adam Gase: ‘If you’ve got a pulse, you’re in the mix’ for Dolphins offensive line

The Miami Dolphins are again faced with an offensive line shakeup as injuries continue to decimate the position group. The team has two opening day starters, left guard Josh Sitton and center Daniel Kilgore, on injured reserve; they have two starting tackles, both of whom missed snaps last week with injuries; and, they have the replacement starting left guard listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

It has been rough for the five men tasked with protecting quarterback Brock Osweiler, who of course is playing in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill.

Miami’s offensive line this weekend could trot onto the field with only one starter from back in Week 1 - right guard Jesse Davis. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil and his right side compatriot Ja’Wuan James have both been dealing with knee injuries this week and are questionable for the game. “Yeah, it’s going to be game time,” Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said on Friday. “The fact that we had them out there [practicing Friday], it’s always good. But we’ll see [on Saturday] how they feel. It’s going to go up to the game.”

The Dolphins will likely be without Ted Larsen, who replaced Sitton this season at left guard, as he works through a neck injury that kept him limited in practice all week and has him listed as doubtful for the game. “He’s struggled the last couple of weeks,” Gase said of Larsen’s injury. “We didn’t do as much with him this week. He’s going to be probably doubtful for the game. We’ve got to get him some rest and get him recovered.”

Miami has their bye week in Week 11, meaning Larsen would have two weeks to recover before the team’s next game at the Indianapolis Colts.

The Dolphins could look to Jake Brendel, who spent the first eight weeks of the season on injured reserve, to start in Larsen’s position. “Yeah, I mean, we’ll see,” Gase said of Brendel. “We’ve got to see what happens with the tackles too. We’ve got about nine different lineups.”

Another option Miami could use is to start veteran center Wesley Johnson, who the team signed last month. Asked if Johnson was a possibility, Gase laughed and replied, “If you’ve got a pulse, you’re in the mix. We’re out of guys.”

Miami activated second-year guard Isaac Asiata from the practice squad this week, giving them some more depth along the offensive line. Asiata appeared in one game last year as a rookie in a season the coaching staff described as a red-shirt season for the fifth-round pick. He has spent all of this season on the practice squad until this week.