Already shorthanded, Dolphins lose more starters to injuries in must-win against Jets
The Miami Dolphins’ injury woes were already bad at the start of their must-have regular-season finale against the New York Jets and they got worse as the game went on, with multiple starters going down throughout Sunday.
The most serious blows came in the fourth quarter when Raheem Mostert and Brandon Shell both went down. Mostert went into the locker room with a thumb injury at the start of the quarter, and Shell eventually hobbled off the field with knee and ankle injuries after the cart started to come out to help him into the locker room.
Mostert was the Dolphins’ most productive offensive weapon through three quarters in Miami Gardens and Shell’s injury further thinned an already injured offensive line.
The Dolphins ruled out Mostert and listed Shell as questionable.
Mostert, 30, was leading Miami in yards from scrimmage at the start of the third quarter, with 11 carries for 71 yards and two catches for negative-10. Shell, 30, started at right tackle, making his sixth straight start.
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. took over with Mostert hurt and Robert Hunt moved from right guard to right tackle to fill in for Shell, with fellow offensive lineman Robert Jones taking over at right guard.
The Dolphins entered the game with Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa already injured. Tackle Greg Little started in Armstead’s place at left tackle, while rookie Skylar Thompson started at quarterback, as quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, usually Tagovailoa’s backup, was also limited by a pinkie injury on his throwing hand.
Earlier in the game, All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill and offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg both missed time with injuries, too. Both, however, returned to the lineup after sitting out just one drive. Eichenberg was dealing with a hand injury and Hill had an ankle injury.
Miami needed a win in Week 18 at Hard Rock Stadium, plus a loss by the New England Patriots against the Buffalo Bills, to reach the 2023 NFL playoffs.
