Dolphins hopeful Jaylen Waddle’s season isn’t done
The Miami Dolphins were forced to play most of Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans without half of the team’s speedy receiver duo because of a scary moment that could prematurely end Jaylen Waddle’s season.
Waddle had his right leg rolled up on in the first half of Sunday’s game and didn’t return to the field. He had a noticeable limp after the game, but was walking without the assistance of crutches or a brace.
The Dolphins will evaluate the severity of Waddle’s knee injury on Monday, but it’s possible he could miss some, if not all of the season’s remaining three games.
Last year Waddle missed the season’s final four games because of a high ankle sprain he sustained in December, but played in Miami’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
If Waddle doesn’t play in the season’s final three games he will finish 2024 with 54 receptions, which he turned into 700 yards and two touchdowns.
It would be the 2021 first-round pick’s worst season of his NFL career considering he spent his first three seasons becoming the first receiver in Dolphins history to produce three straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons.
Without Waddle on the field the Dolphins offense struggled because Houston was able to shift all its coverage attention to Tyreek Hill.
Tua Tagovailoa threw all three of his interceptions Sunday while targeting Hill, who finished the game with two receptions for 36 yards.
“It’s tough when you lose any of your top receivers in a game like this when the stakes are high. A lot of the calls are pressure and they are just running man,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s when you count on your best guys to win their match-up. It was tough, when you have [Waddle and Tyreek] it’s pick your poison.”
If Waddle isn’t able to play in next Sunday’s home finale against the San Francisco 49ers the Dolphins would be forced to lean on rookie Malik Washington, River Cracraft, and a couple of their practice squad receivers the rest of the way because Odell Beckham Jr. was released this week, and second-year receiver Grant DuBose suffered a head injury against Houston that got him hospitalized Sunday evening.
Dolphins’ new tackles struggle
The Dolphins faced the Texans with two young, inexperienced starters at offensive tackle.
Patrick Paul started his second NFL game in the city he played his entire collegiate career, and Jackson Carman made his seventh career start since 2021.
Paul, the University of Houston standout the Dolphins drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft replaced Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, who is nursing a knee injury that forced him to sit out most of last week’s overtime win over the New York Jets.
Carman, who has been on Miami’s 53-man roster for a month, replaced Kendall Lamm, who replaced Austin Jackson as Miami’s starting right tackle when Jackson sustained a season-ending knee injury six weeks ago. Lamm is plagued by a back injury.
Lamm was only able to practice once Friday because of a back injury he has been nursing, but seemingly didn’t impress Miami’s coaches, which led to him being inactive.
Carman allowed two of the three sacks the Dolphins gave up, and three pressures. Paul was credited with five quarterback pressures against Houston, which came into Sunday’s game with the second-most sacks in the NFL.
Run game continues to sputter
The Dolphins finished Sunday’s game with 52 rushing yards off 19 carries, which means this was the sixth game in a row Miami has failed to rush for more than 85 yards.
In fact, the Dolphins have been averaging 58.1 rushing yards during this six game stretch, which coincides with the loss of Jackson to his season-ending knee injury.
That means the Dolphins, which had the second best rushing average and best yards per carry average in the NFL last season, intentionally or not, continue to turn down the volume on the run game.
Miami heads into Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers averaging 3.9 yards per carry and 101.4 rushing yards per game, which are both well below the NFL’s average for each.
This story was originally published December 15, 2024 at 6:19 PM.
