With the Miami Dolphins staring down the barrel of a 1-5 record on the season (only four teams in NFL history have clawed back to make the playoffs after such a poor start), their injury report is looking unsettlingly long.
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A grand total of eight Dolphins — headlined by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who’s managing a thumb injury on his throwing hand along with a hip injury — find themselves on Friday’s report.
Of those players, safety Elijah Campbell (quadricep) and linebacker Tyrel Dodson (concussion) have already been ruled out for Sunday’s contest against the 3-2 Los Angeles Chargers. Additionally, offensive lineman Aaron Brewer (pectoral) and cornerback Storm Duck (ankle) are questionable to suit up.
The likes of tight end Darren Waller (hip/rest), offensive lineman Larry Borom (thumb), and wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (knee) round out Miami’s injury report.
Even though Tagovailoa and Waller are set to play on Sunday, their appearances on the injury report should concern fans the most of all.
They were easily two of Miami’s best offensive players in its disastrous loss to the Carolina Panthers last week. The former threw for three touchdowns and completed 75 percent of his passes, and the latter followed up his stellar Dolphins debut with 78 receiving yards.
Now that there’s a distinct possibility that Tagovailoa, the leader of the offense, and Waller won’t be at the top of their games on Sunday, the Dolphins’ chances of winning might hinge on whether someone can step it up in the running game.
Third-year running back De’Von Achane appears due for a breakout performance. He’s on the heels of accumulating just 16 rushing yards on 10 carries against the Panthers, and the 23-year-old has yet to tally triple digits in yards in a single game this season. Achane did come close to that benchmark recently with 99 rushing yards in a win over the New York Jets, though.
