Jerome Baker of the Dolphins is placed on injured reserve; Armstead and Holland are dubious Monday against the Titans
Miami Gardens Coach Mike McDaniel announced on Saturday that linebacker Jerome Baker of the Miami Dolphins will in fact be placed on injured reserve.
Although it was first anticipated that his MCL injury from last Sunday’s victory over the Washington Commanders would not put him on injured reserve, the team decided to put him on IR as the week went on.
Baker is expected to miss at least four games in the remaining five weeks of the regular season.
In Baker’s absence, inside linebacker Duke Riley will be the Dolphins’ primary backup in the starting lineup.
It was really on the verge of being a yes or no situation, so this is more about the needs of the team as a whole and the accumulation of players across several positions, according to McDaniel. I don’t stamp anything that is unknown because things change every day. We are happy that we will now be heading in that direction.
After using up seven of their eight available players, the Dolphins can choose to activate one more player off of injured reserve or the non-football injury list. Chris Brooks, a running back who has been practicing and may be activated off of injured reserve against the Titans, is the seventh player.
Baker could very well take the final spot, according to McDaniel, but he made no commitment on Saturday. In addition to wide receiver Erik Ezukanma (neck) on NFI, Miami also has offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (quadriceps) and running back Salvon Ahmed (foot) on injured reserve who may return. Jaelan Phillips, an outside linebacker, has a torn Achilles tendon and is out for the season.
The good news for the Dolphins on Saturday is that defensive tackle Christian Wilkins’ groin injury, which appeared on the team’s injury report on Friday, shouldn’t prevent him from playing. The groin injury limited Wilkins in Friday drills, but he was cleared to play on Saturday after going through a full practice. He was not listed with a game status designation on the team’s injury report for Monday night against the Tennessee Titans.
Before the day’s drills, McDaniel stated, “Christian, unless new information comes across, I’m not worried about him playing Monday night.” “I have a good feeling he will.”
Security Jevon Holland is doubtful for Monday’s game against the Commanders after missing last Sunday’s due to injuries to both knees. McDaniel stated that it would be best to “wait and see” if he can play against the Titans.
“I want to see how he feels (Saturday) on the practice field— and then I want to see how he feels (Sunday) from it,” McDaniel stated. “Not because of any other reason but we are truly letting him progress.”
Holland said, “I felt good and got my feet wet out there at practice.” The aim is (to play). Have a positive attitude about it. All set to tackle the task at hand.
After suffering the injury in the Jets game on November 24, Holland said that his recovery initially felt sluggish. However, over the course of two weeks, he was able to add movement to his rehab and gradually restore his knee flexibility.
Terron Armstead, the left tackle, is still being treated for a knee injury that he suffered last week, but his quadriceps injury has healed, so going into Monday night, his status is listed as questionable.
“Armstead will not face any setbacks,” stated McDaniel, adding that the choice would be made at game time.
Armstead expressed a similar opinion.
Regarding his availability, Armstead remarked, “I really can’t say.” “On Saturday, I moved around and played a few plays, but our main objective is to always be available, so we’re working extra hard to be with these guys.
“Everyone is coping with various issues. I might have less or more than other people.
If Armstead is unable to play, the backup tackles are Kendall Lamm and Kion Smith.
