After suffering various injuries at the defensive end position this season, the Dolphins have added three veteran pass rushers ahead of their Wild Card round game against the Kansas City Chiefs. This move was expected as the Dolphins came into last Sunday’s game with two pass rushers already done for the season and then proceeded to lose two more in that game. So, with Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Cam Goode all out, the Dolphins decided to sign Justin Houston and Bruce Irvin to the active roster and also added Malik Reed to the practice squad.
Justin Houston is a former Chief, so this will be a revenge game for him, which means he will be really excited to play and can hopefully get some sacks and tackles. He is a 4-time pro bowler and most recently played with the Carolina Panthers. He was released earlier this season to give him a chance to play with a contender. This is his 13th season in the league, which means he is a little old, but he is very experienced and knows the Chiefs well, so I am sure he will get a decent number of snaps on Saturday night.
Bruce Irvin is another player who is in his 13th season and he most recently played with the Lions earlier this season and recorded one sack. He spent most of his career in Seattle and has 56.5 career sacks. I am not sure in what shape he is, but I doubt that he will get a lot of snaps against the Chiefs, it just seems as if Justin Houston was the main guy they wanted to sign and they only signed Irvin for extra help.
And last, we have Malik Reed, who is only in his 5th season in the NFL and most recently played with the Raiders. He only has 16 career sacks, but at least he is not as old as the rest. In any case, he will probably not be on the active roster for Saturday night because he was only signed for the practice squad, but if he is activated for the game, it would be interesting to see if he can apport anything to the team. He also has experience playing for Vic Fangio.
This leaves the Dolphins with an interesting situation at the defensive end position, which is now full of veterans. The problem is that most of these veterans are old and way past their prime, and they won’t be of much help, but since it is a cold game and it might even be a snow game, then speed is not a big factor, and it’s more about physicality which is something they could be good at. Hopefully the Dolphins defense is able to figure it out against the Chiefs and help this team get a win. #FinsUp.
