Is Jaylen Waddle playing today? Dolphins WR’s status explored for Week 17

The Miami Dolphins have an outside chance at the number one seed and a very strong chance at winning the division, but they'll need Jaylen Waddle to help them do so. The star wide receiver has been hampered, and that's not good news for the Dolphins, who come into today at a pristine 11-4. They need a win to lock up the AFC East. Will they have Waddle?

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Is Jaylen Waddle playing today?

Jaylen Waddle is not playing today. The star wide receiver has already been ruled out with a high ankle sprain suffered in last week's victory over the Dallas Cowboys. That can be a multi-week injury, so it's not all that surprising.

Nevertheless, in a key matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, currently the number one seed in the AFC, they will not have Waddle. He is inactive and the rest of his regular season is possibly in jeopardy as well.

Miami will be without Jaylen Waddle

Tyreek Hill returned last week to the lineup, but he has now swapped places with Waddle. The two stars haven't been on the field much together over the last few weeks, and that's going to continue in Week 17.

The Dolphins have a high-flying offense, and Waddle is a part of that. Even with him in the lineup, it was going to be a difficult matchup with the Ravens, who just demolished the San Francisco 49ers' offense.

Without Waddle, it will get that much more difficult, but that's the hand they've been dealt. He was officially ruled out on Friday, so his status today isn't shocking.

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Jaylen Waddle Fantasy Outlook

Jaylen Waddle had a pretty tough matchup, but he's not even going to play. That likely means that backup Dolphins' WRs like Braxton Berrios or River Cracraft are not good options, either.

Noah Brown is available in 54.9% of ESPN leagues. The Houston Texans wideout gets to play the 28th-ranked secondary and gets C.J. Stroud back throwing to him this week.

Curtis Samuel is available in 53.8% of ESPN leagues and the Washington Commanders pass-catcher is projected to score 11.2 PPR points. Rashid Shaheed is available in 69.1% of ESPN leagues with a pretty favorable matchup as well.