James Daniels Injury Update
James Daniels’s pectoral injury in the opening quarter of Sunday’s contest was like a punch to the gut for the Miami Dolphins not just because he spent the rest of the game on the sideline, but because of everything the team had riding on him after investing in a chunky three-year, $24 million contract, even as he was coming off a torn ACL just last September.
Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) shared on Twitter an injury update, revealing that James Daniels suffered a pectoral injury and is questionable to return.
His luck this season? Frankly, not great: Daniels was already questionable to play thanks to an ankle sprain, then three snaps into the opener, boom out goes Miami’s prized free-agent guard, another injury blow for an O-line that started thin and now sits basically on cinderblocks.
Here’s what helps (and yes, let’s cling to the positive): Daniels didn’t fully tear his pectoral muscle, so this isn’t season-ending, and he’s expected to miss just 3–4 weeks, which feels almost merciful in football math. But that stretch covers a string of crucial games for New England, Buffalo, and the Jets, so unless Miami finds some next-man-up magic in Kion Smith, Tua Tagovailoa’s jersey might need extra padding.
FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) reported on Twitter that James Daniels is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after suffering a pectoral injury.
Daniels' going on IR means he’ll return, at the earliest, for the Week 6 showdown against the Chargers. Cole Strange, practically an NFL journeyman at this point, has been signed, possibly to help patch together a line, but there’s no word yet if he’ll even suit up this week against the Patriots.
Coach Mike McDaniel, for his part, sounds relieved the injury wasn’t catastrophic, but injuries don’t care about optimism: Daniels’s absence leaves Miami scrambling, and any Dolphins fan who’s been around more than five minutes knows the O-line’s been an adventure for years. Anyway, here’s to a cleaner bill of health soon and hoping Kion Smith can carry the load; otherwise, expect a lot more nervous play calls and probably a few fresh dings on Tagovailoa’s stat sheet, too.
