Oh, here we go. The Miami Dolphins elevated two players from their practice squad as single-game replacements for teammates on the COVID-19 reserve list — and they’re both former members of the New Orleans Saints.
Let’s start with wide receiver Tommylee Lewis. He bounced on and off of the roster in New Orleans a number of times from 2016 to 2021 before trying out for other teams, having been released with an injury designation earlier this year.
Lewis played a bit part in the receiving corps and return game with the Saints, but his most notorious moment came as the targeted receiver in the 2018 NFC championship game no-call. There are still fans that would swear to you if he’d sold his response to the illegal contact better that the referees would have thrown a flag for it (I’m inclined to agree, though I understand the 168-pounder’s thinking to try a no-sell instead).
In any case, Lewis figures to return punts for Miami in the Caesars Superdome on Monday night. He’s totaled 409 punt return yards on 46 tries in his NFL career, all with New Orleans, with a personal-best of 59 yards on a single return back in 2016. The Saints will have their hands full without four of their top six special teamers in snaps played: J.T. Gray, Jeff Heath, Kaden Elliss, and Dwayne Washington (all of them in COVID protocol).
As for the other ex-Saint called up for Week 16: that’s offensive lineman Cameron Tom, the one-time understudy to Max Unger who was supplanted by the arrival of starting center Erik McCoy and his backup Will Clapp. Tom will be the next man up if something happens to Dolphins starter Michael Deiter. Curiously, Miami previously had another former Saints backup in this role — Austin Reiter — who ended up starting five games for them, only to cut him once Deiter returned to the lineup. Reiter spent a week on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad earlier in December but was released again.
But the Saints will be busy managing their own COVID-19 issues regardless of whoever the Dolphins trot out on Monday night. As things currently stand on Saturday evening, New Orleans would have to call up 10 of the 16 players from their practice squad just to fill out a 48-man active roster on game day.
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