The changes can happen every day. Dolphins wide receiver Derek Hagan doesn't need this reminder to keep yet another shuffle at his position in perspective.

Then again, Hagan also isn't going to let this current change — one that could even rekindle his confidence — pass him up. So yes, he said, he is running as the team's No. 1 wide receiver right now.

"Back where I need to be," Hagan said Wednesday after practice.

And yes, he said, it's a role he plans to embrace as Miami tries to find stability at an unstable position that provided as few answers in Sunday's loss to the Jets as it had through most of training camp.

Still, his elevation to the No. 1 receiver spot raises more questions than it answers. Why would Hagan be promoted just a week after he was demoted behind Greg Camarillo as the team's third passing option — especially since he didn't catch any passes in the season-opener?

Perhaps the Dolphins' decision to consistently shuffle the rotation at the wide receiver position is less an indication of Hagan's progress as it is of a team desperately seeking any combination that can create an offensive spark.

Just part of the growing process, each receiver said.

"We don't have anybody who is standing out as the go-to guy," Camarillo said Wednesday. "We're still competing for playing time. But it's very clear that if you do something well, you'll be put on the field to do it.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see a rotation of five guys."

But which five guys?

If the depth chart itself seems like a constant jumble (which is not unusual because different offensive schemes call for different personnel), the coaching staff's decisions regarding who to start and who to sit might be means for more than Tylenol.

On Sunday, when the Dolphins chose to deactivate wide receiver Ernest Wilford, it was partly the result of Wilford's inability to separate himself as a key playmaker during practice. But coach Tony Sparano explained the move further Wednesday.

Wilford isn't a contributor on special teams. And Sparano can't afford to activate a player — especially one who isn't standing out — if that player isn't going to see more than a few snaps during a game.

"I can't take guys to the game that are in single digit play-count wise at the end of this," Sparano said. "When we get to the ballgame, I have to think about that fourth guy and that fifth guy and how they contribute on special teams that way."

STILL IN FLUX

What that means for Sunday's game remains to be seen. Sparano said the team is working toward finding a role for Wilford on special teams, which could put him back onto the active roster. That would likely mean Brandon London would be inactive.

Based on Wednesday's practice, it seems as if the team is expecting to give Wilford repetitions in the game. But even that assumption might be too premature.

With the team seemingly set on Camarillo and Davone Bess (both players have very specific roles), it brings into question the roles of Ted Ginn Jr. and Hagan. And with Hagan suddenly playing as the No. 1 receiver, Ginn's status becomes uncertain — especially since Bess has seen more time as a punt returner.

"I don't know, man," Ginn said Wednesday of where he fits into the rotation. "We're trying to get all of that sorted out."

Ginn is still the team's most promising deep threat, which means Camarillo's prediction of a five-man rotation makes the most sense. Whether Wilford can find his way into the rotation is an important question.

A TEAM CONCERN

And it's something everyone on this team — even on the defensive side — is paying attention to.

"Whatever his problem is, whatever is going on with him, he needs to get it cleared up because we need him," defensive captain Vonnie Holliday said of Wilford. "I was as shocked as anyone when I looked at the board and saw he wasn't active. I have no idea what it is. I don't care what it is. I just want him to get it fixed. I want him to get it fixed so that it's not an issue anymore."

During Sunday's loss, quarterback Chad Pennington succeeded in the passing game when he used the tight ends and the running backs as his targets. The wide receivers caught just two passes by the end of the first quarter — and none in the second quarter.

Finding a way to create more production for those receivers earlier in the game will be an important factor Sunday.

Still, Sparano said he isn't overly concerned at this point, nor was he overly discouraged by the corps' performance Sunday. It is, after all, only one week. And this is, after all, a team clearly growing one day at a time.

"I thought as a whole that the group played well," Sparano said. "Not great, but well. We have to do a better job of separating from people. When we get our hands on the ball, run after the catch is important at that position, all those things.

"That's a young group, and I think they're growing a little bit each day out there."