The Injury Bug Won’t Leave the Dolphins Alone
It’s officially been one full week of Dolphins training camp, and injuries are already piling up. Earlier this week, it was reported that cornerback Kader Kohou will miss the entire 2025 season with a partially torn ACL. Just days prior, veteran CB Artie Burns suffered the same injury, prompting the Dolphins to sign both Jack Jones and Mike Hilton as emergency depth. Unfortunately, the injury bug returned Saturday morning.
The first scare of the day had Dolphins fans holding their breath. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips left the field after appearing to injure his left knee. Trainers checked him out as he walked off gingerly. Phillips is no stranger to setbacks; he ruptured his Achilles midway through the 2023 season and tore his ACL in Week Four of 2024. Now, after working his way back and entering a contract year, another injury is the last thing both he and the Dolphins need. Thankfully, Phillips later calmed the panic with a tweet: “I just got leg whipped y’all chill out 😂 just a bruise.”
The second injury, however, could prove much more costly. Starting right tackle Austin Jackson went down with what has been described as a lower extremity injury. Early hope is that he’ll be ready for Week One against the Colts, but in the meantime, the Dolphins may be forced to explore emergency depth. With Terron Armstead retiring this offseason, tackle is already one of the thinnest positions on the roster, second only to cornerback. Free-agent options are limited. Jackson has been a bright spot in recent years. Once considered a bust after being drafted 18th overall in 2020, he’s developed into a reliable starter for Miami. Losing him for any time would be a major blow.
At this point, the Dolphins have eight players expected to miss significant time due to training camp injuries. ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently spoke on the team’s outlook and the importance of their starting quarterback’s health: “If he's healthy, he's a very effective QB... as long as Tua’s healthy, I think [the Dolphins] are going to be a good team.” However, here’s a potential problem: What if Tua Tagovailoa does stay healthy, and everyone else around him doesn’t? Right now, that’s starting to feel like a very real possibility.