Why are Miami Dolphins bucking trend of fewer injuries in the NFL?

February 7, 2024 Admin

No way that can be right.

That’s a logical reaction to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell claiming there were 700 fewer instances of players missing games this season compared to last season. At least if you pay any attention to the Dolphins, you had to recoil at the statistic.

As the season ended for the Dolphins, all you heard were players and coaches refusing to use injuries as an excuse for the team’s failure to end its 23-year playoff drought. They abided by an unwritten rule in football, even if we all know what they were saying was more fiction than fact.

You don’t lose all the players this team lost and not, well, lose.

Terron Armstead, Jalen Ramsey, De’Von Achane and Jerome Baker all landed on injured reserve — and that’s players the Dolphins later plucked back off the IR list. The guys who went on IR and were never seen again include anyone who did anything on the edge (Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Andrew Van Ginkel), the starting center (Connor Williams) and, wait, who’s that guy? Why, it’s Jerome Baker. Again on IR. And still, we’ve barely even touched the offensive line, which is just as well because to do so is to risk another blocker going down for the count.

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So what’s that ol’ Rog was saying? A great year for injuries? That being the case, it raises hard questions. One such question came up at the Dolphins’ post-mortem news conference when general manager Chris Grier was asked if the strength and conditioning staff needed a fresh approach to keep players from congregating in the treatment (or operating) room.

“We feel very strong that our group are some of the best in the NFL,” Grier said of the staff. “I think if you were to ask a lot of agents and stuff, we get feedback of all that when they deal with our players and they always say your guys are the best.”

Isn’t there more Miami Dolphins can do to keep players healthy?

Those of us on the outside aren’t qualified to say they are or aren’t. What we can say is even if they are the best, two things can be true: 1) Maybe the high injury rate is just bad luck and 2) Maybe it’s not. Maybe there’s still more that can be done.

That second possibility would not appear to apply to coach Mike McDaniel, who’s so cautious about throwing players back out there that he shivers at any reporter probing for a timeline on recoveries.

Still, though, only four of his players managed to start every regular-season game: David Long, Zach Sieler and Christian Wilkins, plus the guy everyone was worried about, Tua Tagovailoa. Ten others appeared in every game, plus the three specialists.

Ten also is the number of players who finished the season on injured reserve, which actually was an improvement over 2022, when a dozen finished on IR (sensing a trend?).

McDaniel juggled injuries to such an extent this season that the Dolphins used 12 different starting combinations on the offensive line. Only the Jets used more. With half the season still to be played, the Dolphins flirted with bumping up against the league’s limit of eight players who could return off IR.

“Tremendous progress” — those were Goodell’s words from, obviously, a league-wide perspective. He added, “That’s huge. Very significant for our players, our teams, our fans.”

Positive injury trend? Tell that to Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow

It is, but it ignores the fact that so many “very significant” players didn’t benefit. Start with Aaron Rodgers right out of the gate, then consider Kirk Cousins, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, etc. — so many that they all but anointed Joe Flacco with sainthood in Cleveland. As dreadful a year as it was for Dolphins injuries, the same applies to starting quarterbacks not named Tagovailoa.

As for Dolphins injuries, “That definitely caught up,” Pro Bowl running back Raheem Mostert said in a moment of candor. “Especially going on a run late in the season, which is mind-boggling and kind of sucks.”

Typical was the regular-season finale against Buffalo for the division title. The Dolphins listed 19 players on their injury report — all but five were starters — compared to seven for the Bills. That’s not an excuse; it’s a handicap. (The Super Bowl teams, the 49ers and Chiefs, list only a combined eight starters on their early injury reports.)

“The bottom line is that every year you expect to have to count on your depth down the stretch of a season,” McDaniel said.

We’ll see how much it can be counted on in 2024. Before Grier can beef up his second- and third-stringers, he must first wrestle with the team’s salary cap. It’s nice having someone to back up Wilkins. It’s better to first have Wilkins.

The NFL’s figures show stability in concussions, with 219 reported this season compared to 213 in 2022. ACL tears dropped to 52, a 24 percent decline in two years. Although that averages to just 1.6 per team, the Dolphins were on the unlucky side there as well, with Williams and Chubb suffering season-ending tears.

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If there’s any injury that can make NFL players shudder as much as ACLs, it’s Achilles injuries, which also mean a year of rehab. Phillips suffered one at MetLife Stadium, a notorious playing surface also blamed for destroying Rodgers’ first year in Jets green. Good luck proving that surface is the cause, especially with the league seemingly pushing back. When it was pointed out to Goodell that FIFA won’t use fake grass for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, he replied that a hybrid surface “is something to really explore” for the NFL. He pointed out the difficulty in attempting to maintain a grass surface indoors for an entire season vs. a one-month tournament.

At least that won’t be an issue for the seven World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium, which of course has real grass. That’s one fewer concern for the regular tenants of the facility. And it’s good to know that Grier believes the training staff does a “fantastic job.”

While the hope is he’s correct, another hope is that Goodell’s league-wide perspective is heeded by all 32 teams, including Miami’s.

“There’s still more work to be done,” he said.

Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.

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