The Miami Dolphins are eliminated from the postseason and the results of their last two games won’t influence anything other than their 2026 NFL draft picks. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be gained from matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots.

Last week, against the Cincinnati Bengals, rookie wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. saw his first regular season snaps after getting elevated from the practice squad. Other young Dolphins players may seize similar opportunities before the season is over.

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“There’s several guys that are up for consideration,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of practice squad elevations earlier this week. “There’s some battles on the practice field and that means we have a competitive practice squad where we have some extra roster possibilities if they choose to seize the opportunity.”

Other young players who have spent the entire year on the Dolphins’ practice squad include wide receiver A.J. Henning, offensive lineman Josh Priebe, defensive lineman Alex Huntley, and pass rusher Derrick McLendon.

When asked about McLendon specifically, McDaniel said the young edge rusher “absolutely” has a chance at seeing the field before the year is over.

“He’s always developing his game; he got a lot more comfortable with his hand in the ground,” McDaniel said of McLendon. “This past offseason you saw some productivity, relentless motor and he doesn’t waste a day on this team. He’s one of the guys that we rely upon to bring the juice; he always delivers. So yes, he would be in that pocket of consideration for sure.”

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McLendon put together an impressive training camp and finished preseason with two sacks and eight tackles. But there was little room on the 53-man roster for edge rushers, especially after the team added Matt Judon to the mix before the end of August.

In the last few months, though, the team traded away Jaelan Phillips and released Judon. To fill those shoes, the Dolphins brought Quinton Bell back to the active roster and given Cameron Goode more defensive snaps. Still, Miami has plenty of reason to get a closer look at McLendon before the offseason begins.

McDaniel won’t give those chances if they aren’t earned, though.

“All the decisions that we made, it wasn’t like we were just going into the bucket and grabbing a young guy and saying, ‘let’s shoot our shot,’” McDaniel said. “It was more about the young guys developing and being ready for the opportunity.

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“The best players, I play, and as the season progresses, who the best players are sometimes change. Then when you can identify that because of the growth of the (players), you make the move. You’re hoping for competitive practices, competition and when you have competition and people grow in their game, they’re rewarded with doing right by the team which is playing the best players.”

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins could use last 2 games to get a closer look at young players