McDaniel announces three Dolphins who will begin season sidelined, addresses backup QB
Guard Isaiah Wynn (lower body injury) and edge rushers Bradley Chubb (ACL) and Cameron Goode (knee) will begin the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, sidelining them for at least the first four games of the season.
Coach Mike McDaniel said he isn’t sure if receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who also remains on the active/PUP list with an undisclosed injury, will begin the season on the active roster or move to the reserve/PUP list.
The Dolphins had two options with those four players who are on PUP: keep them on the 53-man roster to begin the season or move them from the active/physically unable to perform list to the reserve/PUP list, which would require them to miss the first four games. That decision must be made by 4 p.m. Tuesday, when teams must trim their rosters to 53.
With Beckham, McDaniel said, “There is not a scenario where he is going to jump out there with a cape on without practicing at all.” The Dolphins must decide how soon he can help them in a game after not practicing for weeks.
With Wynn out for at least four games, Rob Jones is the likely starter at left guard. The Dolphins have declined to say whether his absence is directly related to his season-ending quadriceps injury last October.
With Chubb (and Goode) sidelined for at least four games and potentially longer, the Dolphins will rely on Jaelan Phillips, Emmanuel Ogbah, Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara as their edge players. (Quinton Bell also could be in the mix.)
“You would like to see continued progression without halt, and I’ve seen a ton of that,” McDaniel said of the young edge players.
Meanwhile, McDaniel said he will not be surprised if the team adds a third quarterback to join Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson. But he wasn’t sure if that QB will be on the 53-man roster or practice squad.
McDaniel praised Thompson, who won the No. 2 job against Mike White, noting, “I see a better quarterback now than I did at the beginning of camp, than last year and the year before... I see teammates believe in him. How do you respond to adversity, and how do you make a play when one isn’t there. I wasn’t surprised by what I saw from Skylar.”
McDaniel said of the backup quarterbacks: “We don’t need an experienced guy. We can go with a guy who has a high ceiling. I think this particular QB room we can go with a young guy, an old guy or just a good guy.”
McDaniel addressed other issues on Monday morning:
▪ He was non-committal about whether center Aaron Brewer (hand injury) will be available for the regular-season opener against Jacksonville.
“I don’t want to make players worse and if they think I’m expecting them to be ready for anything, I run the risk of wishing it into existence,” McDaniel said. “I’m happy where he’s at.”
▪ McDaniel said defensive tackle Brandon Pili, who left the field limping during Friday’s preseason finale, “is going to be working through a little discomfort today, but he should be fine and sweating right next to me.”
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 9:55 AM.
