5 Miami Dolphins players who are not performing

BILLY TURNER

Last season the Dolphins drafted Turner and expected him to make an impact on the roster. He was injured and therefore did not. The team is so high on Turner that this off-season they decided to not go after a guard in the draft and nothing more than depth players in free agency. So far, they may be wishing they had thought it through a little more.

Turner was next to stellar in practice and held his own very well but he was inconsistent during the first pre-season game where he logged a lot of minutes through most of the first three quarters. Against the Panthers last weekend, Turner struggled even more. In fact it’s being rumored that the Dolphins are not only, not-thrilled with Turner but giving other players looks with the potential to take his place.

Compounding matters is the fact that the Dolphins have problems not just at right guard but at both guard positions. Dallas Thomas, who is playing far better than we have seen him, is in line to start at right guard should Turner’s fall continue. The Dolphins have offensive line issues and there is no doubt about that. It’s simply too much however for Turner to handle right now, today.

Miami opted to not pursue all-pro guard Evan Mathis which could have shored up at least one of the two guard positions. They were interested but not at the $4 million price he received from Denver.

Turner isn’t in a position to lose his job, just his starting role with the team. The Dolphins had gambled on Turner and thus far are not liking the way the cards are falling. He will get more reps this weekend against Atlanta and likely more in the final game. He needs to figure out what he is doing in practice that earlier caught the positive eyes of the coaches and translate to success on the field. The Dolphins offense needs him to.

NOTE: I am aware that Jamil Douglas was drafted in the 4th round. He is competing with Thomas and Turner.