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Dolphins remain without several key players coming out of bye week. Where things stand

Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb (2) looks on during training camp at Baptist Health Training Complex on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Dolphins exited their bye week on Monday with several key players unavailable to practice because of injuries.

Linebacker Bradley Chubb and guard Isaiah Wynn, two starters who are eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list, are not yet ready to practice, coach Mike McDaniel said.

Receiver River Cracraft is eligible to come off injured reserve but did not practice Monday. McDaniel didn’t rule out the possibility of a player on injured reserve coming back to practice later in the week.

Cracraft, safety Patrick McMorris and cornerback Cam Smith are the players on injured reserve who are now eligible to return; Smith (hamstring) began practicing two weeks ago and practiced again on Monday.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa isn’t eligible to return from injured reserve until next week.

Among players on the 53-man roster, linebackers David Long Jr., Emmanuel Ogbah and Mo Kamara and safety Jordan Poyer were not practicing during the portion of Monday’s practice that’s open to reporters. Long has been dealing with a hamstring injury and Poyer has been out with a shin injury. The reason for the absences of Ogbah and Kamara wasn’t clear.

Safety Jevon Holland, who broke a bone in his left hand during the New England game, warmed up Monday before going inside to rehabilitate. Holland has a wrap on his left hand.

It would be a surprise if Poyer plays Sunday at Indianapolis (1 p.m, Fox); he missed the team’s most recent game, a win against New England, with a shin injury sustained in a collision with linebacker Jaelan Phillips during the Monday night loss to Tennessee. That collision left Phillips with a partially torn ACL that will sideline him for the remainder of this season.

Running back De’Von Achane, who’s in concussion protocol, was on the practice field wearing a red-contact jersey on Monday, suggesting he’s in the later stages of protocol.

Meanwhile, Chubb continues his recovery from a torn ACL sustained Dec. 31 against Baltimore. McDaniel said he’s “optimistic” Chubb will play this season and he hasn’t had any setbacks. But “I don’t expect to see Bradley this week,” McDaniel said.

Wynn hasn’t played since sustaining a quadriceps injury last October against Philadelphia. The team signed him to a one-year, $1.9 million contract during the offseason, but he hasn’t been able to practice or play since training camp began.

For the first time, McDaniel said Monday that Wynn didn’t re-injure the same quadriceps.

Instead, McDaniel said Wynn is dealing with “lingering things that did come up that weren’t the quad... Residuals in the human body. Stress in one area can lead to stress in another.”

McDaniel said he doesn’t know when he will be able to play but has had a “positive couple of weeks.”

Besides Chubb and Wynn, linebacker Cameron Goode is the other player on the PUP list. He’s now eligible to return but isn’t ready to practice after sustaining a torn patella tendon in Week 18 against Buffalo.

Besides Cracraft, defensive backs McMorris and Smith also are eligible to return immediately from injured reserve. Once a player on injured reserve begins practicing, a team has 21 days to move him to the 53-man roster; otherwise, he would be ruled out for the season. For Smith to play this season, the Dolphins must move him to the 53-man roster by Oct. 23.

The 21-day clocks haven’t started for Cracraft and McMorris because they haven’t practiced yet.

The 21-day clock hasn’t started for Tagovailoa and receiver Grant DuBose because they’re not yet eligible to play or practice.

Four Dolphins on injured reserve are not eligible to return this season because they were placed on IR before the final cut-down process in late August: linebackers Cam Brown and Grayson Murphy, tackle Kion Smith and receiver Tahj Washington.

Teams can remove as many as eight players from injured reserve during a season (and two more in the playoffs), provided they miss at least four games. The Dolphins have used one of those eight slots on receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and another will be used on Tagovailoa.

Two others figure to be used on Cracraft and Cam Smith.

The three players on PUP — Chubb, Wynn and Goode — can be moved to the 53-man roster when they’re ready, without counting toward the eight-man designated-to-return from IR limit.