Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase remains quiet about Ja’Wuan James against Bengals

In the Miami Dolphins 30-24 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, head coach Adam Gase decided to bench right tackle Ju’Wuan James after two hits that caused quarterback Ryan Tannehill to turn the ball over. On Monday, Gase was noncommittal of James being his left tackle going forward.

“We’ll see where it goes,” Gase said. “We’ve got a couple of moving pieces, obviously, with our injury situation, and (we will) see what happens. It’s one of those things (where) you’re trying to move quick, because you’re trying to evaluate the game. We got to get through today and then figure out, tonight, what we want to do as far as who’s available and what can we do.”

“I guess my standards for him are very high, Gase said. “The reason why is I think he could be a guy that is a difference-maker on our offensive line. I think that’s what probably bothers me more than anything is we haven’t done a good job of pulling everything we can out of him yet.”

Gase said didn’t talk to James before benching him.

“I didn’t have any discussion (with James), Gase said. “I’m over discussing any of this stuff with players. We’re either going to start getting the job done, or we’re going to make changes.”

Sunday was the first time James had been benched because of a bad performance. He was beaten on a play by Tyrone Holmes, which caused Tannehill to throw an interception to Briean Boddy-Calhoun, which was returned 27 yards for the touchdown.

Then with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Corey Lemonier speeded past James to strip Tannehill and then Lemonier recovered the fumble. That turnover would have set up a game-winning field goal by Browns kicker Cody Parkey, but he missed it as time expired.

Billy Turner then replaced James in overtime as the Dolphins won by a game-winning Jay Ajayi touchdown run.

With the injuries on their offensive line, it is hard seeing Gase benching James this week against the Bengals. If James bad play continues to be a theme, then he could be benched once the team gets healthier.

Injury update:

On Sunday, there were a number of Dolphins players that got injured against the Browns. On Monday, Adam Gase gave updates on the players that were injured and their possible status for Thursday’s game against the Bengals.

Tight end Jordan Cameron did, in fact, suffer his fourth concussion in five years. Gase said he would not be available to play on Thursday night because he is in the concussion protocol.

“We’re always trying to look for things to help our players, safety-wise, with concussions,” Gase said. “I know we’ll always have those discussions to make sure that we do whatever’s best for him (Jordan Cameron), so he’s not in harm’s way.”

Arian Foster missed Sunday’s game because of a groin injury. He will likely miss his second straight game because of the shorter week.

“It would be tough for us to get him back, probably, this week without practicing,” Gase said. “I’d rather be more cautious with him and get him for the duration than rush him back and lose him again.”

Gase also wasn’t sure if center Mike Pouncey will play against the Bengals. Pouncey has been trying to recover from a hip injury ever since the team’s second preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys last month.

“Obviously, I know what Mike (Pouncey) is going to say,” Gase said. “Mike is going to say, ‘I’m going.’ But we just need to make sure we talk to everybody – the doctors, the trainers, coaching staff – to make sure if we end up saying yes to it that we’re all on the same page.”

Miami offensive line also suffered from the injury bug as center Anthony Steen and left tackle Branden Albert both hurt their ankle against the Browns. Linebacker Jelani Jenkins injured his groin, while Koa Misi had a neck injury. Both will be evaluated in the next couple of days to determine if they can play this Thursday.

Twitter: @antwanstaley