MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- DeVante Parker's agent called Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase "incompetent" after his client was a surprise inactive for Sunday's 32-21 loss to the Detroit Lions.
"Coach Gase is incompetent -- period -- and not telling the truth when it comes to DeVante, who is totally healthy and was needed big-time today," agent Jimmy Gould said. "This is the third game he has done this to DeVante this year. It's sickening and a grossly unfair characterization of my client."
A quad injury caused Parker to miss the Week 4 and Week 5 games, but he was listed as a full participant in practice every day this week.
Gase confirmed after the game that the decision to leave out the receiver was based more on his decision than on Parker's health, despite his saying Parker was not 100 percent healthy.
"That's what we decided to do this game, and we had those four guys that had been kind of rolling together, and we wanted to get [Kalen] Ballage up, and he's doing a lot on special teams," Gase said.
Parker played four of 78 snaps last Sunday in the Dolphins' win over the Bears -- by far the fewest of Miami's five active receivers. The Dolphins have received strong production from Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant, the two wideouts who have seen the biggest uptick in snaps with Parker out this season.
Parker has two catches for 40 yards in two games this season. He missed some of training camp, most of the preseason and the first two games of the regular season with a broken middle finger.
The Dolphins have had conversations with multiple teams regarding a trade for Parker, but their asking price is considered high right now, a source told ESPN before the game.
At this point, a trade seems to be the best fit for both parties. There has been interest in getting a deal done, but Miami's price will likely need to come down a bit.
Last Friday, Gase said he spoke with Parker during training camp about trade rumors when they became too loud to ignore. But as for recently, he said: "I don't really pay attention to all of that stuff. But if it gets back to [me], if something gets to me, then I'm assuming that he probably heard something about it. I know I haven't called anybody."
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum would handle trade talks primarily. Parker has said he wants to be in Miami, but he understands the business element of football.