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The Miami Dolphins could not have gotten a worse start to the season than the one they had on Sunday when they were on the receiving end of a 33-8 drubbing at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. For a team looking to return to the playoffs in 2025 after missing out last year, this is not the ideal start to the season.
Making matters worse is that the Dolphins already have to deal with the injury bug — with guard James Daniels, who is one of the players the team would want to rely upon to protect quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, hitting the doctor’s chair.
Daniels exited the game in the first quarter with a pectoral injury and wasn’t able to return to the contest. At the very least, the Dolphins’ offensive lineman did not suffer a tear to his pectoral muscle, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, which is the “best-case scenario” due to how bad the injury looked for him to not be able to return to their contest against the Colts.
Daniels is expected to miss three to four weeks with this injury, which, while it is the best the Dolphins could hope for given the circumstances, is a huge blow. The 27-year-old offensive lineman wasn’t already the most durable player to begin with, so for him to suffer another injury setback is going to be tough for both him and the Dolphins to deal with.
He was deemed questionable to play leading up to the first game of the season against the Colts, although it was for an ankle injury. This was already concerning, especially when he’s set to play in his first official game in nearly a year after he tore his ACL in September 2024.
How the Dolphins deal with the loss of their $24 million man remains to be seen, still.
Considering how many injuries Tagovailoa has suffered over the past few years, the Dolphins have made it a priority to beef up the offensive line to protect their franchise quarterback. Daniels was certainly an investment; they gave him a three-year, $24 million contract even though he was coming off a torn ACL — that was the kind of trust they had in the 27-year-old.
Alas, it is not going swimmingly for Daniels and the Dolphins, with Daniels set to miss at least three games (against the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and New York Jets) if his initial injury timeline holds.
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