The Dolphins are less than a week away from kicking off a season infused with high expectations and their starting left tackle isn’t ready to say that he’ll be ready to go against the Redskins.
Branden Albert has been cleared to return to action after tearing his ACL and MCL last November and he’s been practicing for a while without any issues that would lead you to believe that his knee hasn’t healed enough for him to get on the field. No one is willing to say for sure that he’ll be on the field, however.
Coach Joe Philbin said Albert looked good on Monday, but says “we haven’t committed to anybody” for Sunday at this point. Albert isn’t making any predictions either, although he said his knee isn’t the potential obstacle to taking his spot on the line in Washington.
“The simple fact that my knee doesn’t bother me is the most important thing that people have to understand,” Albert said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s not my knee. It’s me playing like I need to play to help this team, being the blindside protector I’m supposed to be to help this team win. It’s my conditioning and my timing. That’s what the organization and trainers are keeping an eye on. Right now I can’t give nobody a straight answer. I don’t want to give somebody an answer and then look like a liar. The most important thing people need to realize is that it’s not my knee. It’s me getting my timing back.”
The quality of the offensive line in Miami is one of the biggest questions about the Dolphins heading into the season and Albert’s status plays into that uncertainty. Getting him on the field will alleviate some of the anxiety about the unit and it looks like things are heading that way, although it appears there will be a few more days before the Dolphins decide to make it official.