The Miami Dolphins had to play without Kadyn Proctor in their Week 8 matchup, and there's no guarantee that won't be the case again when they face the Detroit Lions at Hard Rock Stadium next Sunday.

And the team's coaches at least can be encouraged by what they saw from his replacement, Jarrett Kingston, against the New England Patriots on Sunday in what was his first NFL start.

Things didn't start off well for Kingston, who was on the wrong end of a couple of big defensive plays for New England and also was flagged for a false start, but he settled in and produced a pretty respetable performance.

Pro Football Focus graded him as the second-best guard on the field at Hard Rock Stadium, behind Matt Pryor of the Patriots and ahead of the other two New England guards and teammate Jonah Savaiinaea.

More importantly, head coach Jeff Hafley said Monday he liked what Kingston put on tape.

"I thought he he started off a little slow, and then I thought as he got comfortable, I thought he picked it up and he played well," Hafley said. "I thought he was physical. His assignments were good. I know he had the one false start fairly early in the game, but I thought he finished well, and I thought he played well for his first start. And I was proud of him. And whether or not he goes again next week, I know that he'll be ready and that we'll be able to count on him."

THE KADYN PROCTOR UPDATE

Because concussions are fickle and therefore hard to project in terms of recovery, it's too early to have a clear idea of whether Proctor will be able to play against the Lions in Week 9, but the key point from Hafley on Monday is that Proctor is still in the concussion protocol.

"He's progressing through it, and we'll continue to follow the steps," Hafley said. "But he's currently still in the protocol."

The biggest indicator figures to come by Thursday and if it's Proctor is able to practice at least on a limited basis, to then come back and be a full go Friday before getting clearance over the weekend.

Before Proctor had to miss Game 7, the Dolphins were able to start the same five offensive linemen for every game, the first time since 2017 they had the same starting five for the first six games.

THE OUTLOOK FOR THE IR/PUP GUYS

Proctor was the only Dolphins player to miss the New England game because of an injury, though the team still has three players on injury lists who are eligible to return when they're ready.

Those three are rookie linebacker Trey Moore, veteran linebacker Ronnie Harrison Jr. and cornerback Darrell Baker Jr., the first two on injured reserve and the latter on PUP.

Hafley said Baker, signed as a free agent in the offseason, was the closest of the three to being able to return. Moore, who was injured in the preseason opener against Washington after an impressive training camp showing, might be the one who's furthest away.

"Trey is doing good," Hafley said. "Do I think he's going to be back this week or next week? I don't. But we'll see how he progresses, and still hopeful that we'll get him for some part of the season, to get another young guy on the field and and see what he can do."