Miami Dolphins activate Austin Jackson and Kirk Merritt to 53

The Miami Dolphins have activated Austin Jackson from the IR and promoted Kirk Merritt to the 53 man roster.

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins may very well have Austin Jackson back and a new wide-receiver threat in Kirk Merritt against the Cardinals.

The Dolphins placed Jackson on IR about a month ago but he was practicing this week without any issues. That being said, the fact he is activated does not mean he will start on Sunday in Arizona. The Dolphins may play him and they should, but bring him back slowly in this game as he has only had this week to get ready.

The Dolphins have been using Jesse Davis on the left outside and while it is not ideal, he has been playing decently. This would also leave Robert Hunt at right tackle. In the event that Jackson does start, Davis will probably take over at right tackle sending Hunt to the bench.

As for Merritt, the Dolphins have brought him off the practice squad but it is not likely that he gets activated for the game. Merritt has a lot of work to do and will likely head back to the practice squad after this week’s game or after the next weeks. Due to COVID changes, the NFL allows a player to be brought up from the PS and returned without having that player go through league waivers. The team can do that twice.

Merritt has a lot of potentials but is likely to see an arc that is closer to what we saw with former Dolphins receiver Isaiah Ford. In other words, a lot of time on the PS learning the nuances of the game.