The Miami Dolphins have placed three key starters on the injured reserve, officially ruling them out for Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Round game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
On X/Twitter, the Dolphins announced that linebackers Jerome Baker, Cameron Goode and Andrew Van Ginkel were placed on the injured reserve. They have signed four-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Justin Houston and ex-Seattle Seahawks standout Bruce Irvin to fill up two of the roster spots.
The Dolphins have been hit hard by the injury bug over in recent weeks. Star pass-rushers Jaelan Phillips (torn Achilles) and Bradley Chubb (torn ACL) all suffered season-ending injuries late in the season.
On top of that, star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and top running back Raheem Mostert each missed Miami’s last two regular season games, both losses. The two Miami defeats allowed the Buffalo Bills to swoop in and take the AFC East.
The late season slide also cost Miami the No. 2 seed in the AFC, meaning they’ll have to play a minimum of two road games now to reach the AFC Championship. And they’ll have to start by dethroning Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, who have hosted each of the last five conference title games.
It remains to be seen if Waddle and/or Mostert will play against Kansas City. We do at least know, however, that the Dolphins will be incredibly short-handed on the defensive side of the ball against the defending champs.
