Rishard Matthews, Ja'Wuan James return to practice for Miami - Dolphins at Chargers initial injury report

The Miami Dolphins could be getting a key member of their offense back this week, as offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James returned to Wednesday's walkthrough practice. James, who practiced on a limited basis, has been sidelined by a toe injury for the last six weeks, an injury that was originally listed as having a 4-6 week recovery time. James returning could mean the Dolphins will have a healthy offensive line heading into their final three games, though the team still has to see how James responds throughout the week before the will know if he is ready to face the San Diego Chargers this upcoming weekend.

Interim head coach Dan Campbell was asked after practice if the team is starting to ramp up James, hoping to get him ready for the weekend. "Yeah I actually just walked out from there. We're testing him a little bit. We got a look at him, we put some pads on him and just seeing what he looks like."

The team also saw the return of wide receiver Rishard Matthews, who was also limited in his first practice back. Matthews has been dealing with a rib injury he sustained in the team's first possession against the New York Jets. He has missed the last two games because of the injury, and Campbell is not yet ready to say Matthews will definitely play on Sunday, "It's still day-to-day. He certainly feels better than he has. Again, today it was a walk-through practice, tomorrow will be more of jog-through and then Friday we'll amp it up. We're just going to see how he feels day-to-day. He certainly feels better than he did last week, but I don't really know exactly how he's going to feel by the end of the week."

Campbell also mentioned defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, who re-aggravated a calf injury during the team's loss to the New York Giants on Monday. "It doesn't look too good for Earl. He's got that calf again. Again, we'll see how he feels tomorrow, but it looks unlikely that we'll have him."

The initial injury reports for the week for both the Dolphins and Chargers are below. Both franchises will update them on Thursday afternoon before releasing their final reports on Friday. Kickoff for Sunday's game is at 4:25pm ET.

Full

Chargers

D.J. Fluker, guard - Concussion
Chris Hairston, guard/tackle - Abdomen
Dontrelle Inman, wide receiver - Neck

Limited

Dolphins

Ja'Wuan James, tackle - Toe
Jarvis Landry, wide receiver - Knee
Rishard Matthews, wide receiver - Ribs
Lamar Miller, running back - Ankle
Billy Turner, guard - Calf
Damien Williams, running back - Back

Chargers

Javontee Herndon, wide receiver - Shoulder
Sean Lissemore, nose tackle - Shoulder
Steve Williams, cornerback - Hip

Did Not Practice

Dolphins

Jelani Jenkins, linebacker - Ankle
Bobby McCain, cornerback - Concussion
Earl Mitchell, defensive tackle - Calf

Chargers

King Dunlap, tackle - Ankle
Orlando Franklin, guard - Illness
Ledarius Green, tight end - Ankle
Stevie Johnson, wide receiver - Groin