MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins appear primed to get cornerback Rasul Douglas back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

“I feel very optimistic,” McDaniel said about Douglas’ status before the team’s Friday practice. “He’s eager.”

Douglas has missed the Dolphins’ last two games with foot and ankle injuries and has since had the team’s bye week to allow for further recovery.

The positive development for Douglas comes as Miami lost cornerback JuJu Brents to what is likely to be a season-ending ankle ailment as he was filling in formidably for Douglas.

Douglas would start opposite Jack Jones in the base defense for Miami

As the Dolphins are still mulling activations from injured reserve for right tackle Austin Jackson and tight end Darren Waller, McDaniel said center Aaron Brewer and defensive tackle Benito Jones should be good to go for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium.

Brewer (foot/ankle) and Jones (ankle) were still limited on the team’s Thursday injury report. Brewer has not missed a game in his two seasons with the team.

In the hunt

Depending on the network, the Miami Dolphins are still considered to be in playoff contention and “in the hunt” for a postseason spot over the final six weeks of the season.

CBS broadcasts, like Thursday’s Chiefs-Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, have included the Dolphins at 4-7, three games out of a wild-card spot with three teams between them and the playoff picture. ESPN on Friday morning, however, was not including Miami as “in the hunt.”

According to the New York Times’ playoff predictor, the Dolphins have less than a 1 percent chance to make the postseason. If they win out to finish the season 10-7, they have a 28 percent chance.

Thursday’s loss by the Chiefs to the Cowboys improved Miami’s chances as Kansas City is now 6-6 as one of the teams between the Dolphins and a playoff berth.

McDaniel limits the conversation about future playoff opportunities within team facilities.

“I’ve mentioned to the team the New Orleans Saints,” he said, asserting the focus on this week’s task. “The one thing that I do know is you can do math, and you do it off the losses. With this much season to go, I mean, you can do a little research report, the seedings six weeks before the season’s over, vastly different in those six weeks.

“The most important thing is that we play our style of football and continue to progress, because if you’re trying to even be in that conversation and worry about that, you’re not just going in there to get the invite. We’re going to absolutely want our (foot)ball ready. And none of it matters. All of it doesn’t matter beyond the New Orleans Saints game here on Sunday. That’s what I focus on, and I think the veterans in the locker room can do the math for the young guys.”