Starting left guard Ereck Flowers carted off in injury-riddled first quarter for Dolphins
The injuries quickly piled up for the Miami Dolphins against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Three starters went down with various injuries in the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium, and offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and linebacker Elandon Roberts both did not return in the Dolphins’ 19-2 win in Miami Gardens.
First, Eric Rowe went down with a head injury on the fourth play of the game, although the safety returned to the sideline later in the quarter after he was evaluated for a concussion. Later in the first, Roberts headed to the locker room with a chest injury and Flowers went to the locker room with a left ankle injury.
The Dolphins initially listed both as questionable before ruling them out in the third quarter.
Flowers’ injury appeared to potentially be serious after a Bengals defensive lineman rolled up on his leg with 48 seconds left in the opening period. Flowers, who has started every game at left guard this season, writhed on the ground in pain and then needed the help of two trainers to limp off the field. He headed into the blue medical tent for evaluation and then rode a cart into the tunnel.
With Flowers out, rookie Solomon Kindley moved from right guard to left guard and offensive lineman Jesse Davis entered at right guard.
Flowers was one of Miami’s big offseason acquisitions in the winter after he had a breakout season with Washington in 2019. The Dolphins signed the former Miami Hurricane to a three-year, $30-million deal in March.
Roberts’ injury occurred with 4:34 left in the first quarter when he attempted to tackle Cincinnati tight end Drew Sample on the sideline. Robets, who has started 10 games this season, walked into the locker room with a trainer at his side. On the next play, Bengals quarterback Brandon Allen found Tyler Boyd on a swing pass and the wide receiver got around the edge to run free for a 72-yard touchdown. Linebackers Jerome Baker and Kyle Van Noy were on the field with Roberts back in the locker room.
Roberts’ injury occurred just after the Dolphins got another starter back in the lineup. Rowe, who has also started 10 games this year, suffered a head injury on the fourth play of the game when he attempted to tackle Sample and went back to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. After initially being deemed questionable to return, the safety came out of the locker room and headed to the sideline to return to the game.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 2:02 PM.
