Dolphins lose four starters to injuries. The latest updates and a revelation
The Dolphins lost four starters to injury during Sunday’s 33-8 loss to Indianapolis, and at least three, if not all four, are expected to miss some time.
Guard James Daniels likely will miss at least a couple of weeks with a pectoral injury but won’t miss the season, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. The team is mulling whether to put him on injured reserve. ESPN said he will miss three or four weeks.
Daniels left the game after only three plays. It’s the latest health setback for Daniels, who missed the final 13 games last season after sustaining a torn Achilles, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He injured his ankle during last Thursday’s practice and was questionable for the game.
Meanwhile, McDaniel said the team is having doctors evaluate right tackle Austin Jackson, who left with a toe injury after sitting out several weeks of preseason and training camp with an injury to the same toe. The timetable for his return is undetermined, McDaniel said.
Meanwhile, starting cornerback Storm Duck also is expected to miss “a couple” of weeks with an ankle injury, McDaniel said. Duck was carted off after playing 29 defensive snaps.
And starting defensive tackle Benito Jones is week-to-week with an oblique injury, McDaniel said, stopping short of ruling him out for this week.
As for the replacements for those four, Kion Smith filled in at right guard for Daniels and “did a very good job,” McDaniel said. Larry Borom played 10 snaps in relief of Jackson at right tackle.
Rasul Douglas replaced Duck at cornerback and played the remainder of the game opposite Jack Jones. And Jordan Phillips and Matthew Butler played more after Jones departed following 20 defensive snaps.
In other injury news, tight end Darren Waller, who was sidelined Sunday by a hip injury, is trying to play Sunday at home against New England (1 p.m., CBS 4). If he cannot, he will try to play Thursday, Sept. 18 at Buffalo, McDaniel said.
Though Tua Tagovailoa’s head appeared to hit the turf after a sack on Sunday, he’s fine and not in concussion protocol.
McDaniel addressed other issues:
▪ He was asked about ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky pointing out on X that Tyreek Hill hasn’t had a 30-plus yard catch for a full calendar year.
McDaniel said Hill would have had three opportunities to make vertical receptions against the Colts but that opportunity “was taken away from him from his teammates’ non-execution of non-ball assignments.”
▪ He called Sunday’s game “an embarrassing experience, miserable. Nowhere to hide.”
▪ He said the team has watched 93 of 136 plays from the game, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience but was a learning experience.
▪ As an example of even the best players making mistakes, McDaniel mentioned that defensive lineman Zach Sieler, “in his intent to get a sack, voided his pass rush lane. It was well-intentioned. Dropping of rush lanes allowed for an explosive” play. “We have a very close team that was caught by surprise because their play wasn’t as [good] on game day.”
▪ McDaniel said the team expected to have more production from its pass rush. Miami had only one sack (by Bradley Chubb) and four pressures, including three by Jaelan Phillips.
Here is a look at Dolphins grades and snap counts.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 2:33 PM.
