Isaiah Wynn earned the left guard position with the Miami Dolphins in 2023, but it was short-lived. The former first-round pick of the New England Patriots suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 7 and has yet to play in 2024.
But with Wynn ready to return to the field as early as Sunday, Miami Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry told reporters Thursday that the veteran lineman will not return to the starting lineup.
“[Robert Jones] did a great job for us,” Barry said. “[He] continues to hone their craft as we ask them to. He's a great leader in the room. He’s great on the field in terms of the standard and the way we want to work and the way we run our business.”
Jones spent most of his first three seasons with the Dolphins as a reserve lineman, but has moved into the starting lineup on a full-time basis in 2024.
Jones gave up a team-high four sacks, but his grade of 62.1 is higher than Liam Eichenberg's 53.7 and Austin Jackson's 60.0. During the 2023 season, Wynn earned a grade of 47.8 before his season-ending injury.
The Dolphins re-signed Wynn to his second one-year deal with the team in the offseason, but it appears he will be a backup after being activated from injured reserve.
“He’s a professional in his approach,” Barry said of Wynn. “He has a great relationship with everyone in the room, so he does a great job with that. … He’s getting better every day and he’s working hard.”
Wynn returned to practice earlier this month but was kept on injured reserve for a Week 11 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. You can also keep him on IR for the next two games, but activate him to the active roster at any time before then.
