Injuries have become part of the Dolphins’ story again this season, and the latest blow hit hard. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a biceps injury, joining running back De’Von Achane on the season-ending list after Achane tore his ACL.
For a Miami team already short on proven talent and leaning heavily on young players, losing two of its most important pieces before the halfway point is a brutal turn. And it fits a familiar pattern. Over the past decade, the Dolphins have too often watched key starters disappear early, sometimes in bunches.
That backdrop makes the current losses worth measuring against the worst injury hits Miami has taken since 2017. Using first-half season-ending injuries as the standard, and weighing both positional value and player quality, here’s how the top 10 shakes out.
At No. 10 is WR Will Fuller in 2021. Miami had added Jaylen Waddle in the first round to give Tua Tagovailoa’s second season a boost, and Fuller was supposed to bring more speed after signing from Houston. Instead, a finger injury in his second game with the Dolphins ended his season - and his NFL career.
No. 9 is G James Daniels in 2025. He was brought in to help stabilize the offensive line, but his lone start for Miami lasted just four plays. What was expected to be a roughly month-long absence turned into the end of his Dolphins run, leaving the team scrambling for an answer at right guard.
S Reshad Jones comes in at No. 8. One of the Dolphins’ best players of the 2010s, Jones was one of the veteran holdovers on the 2019 rebuild, but he was finished after four games.
CB Xavien Howard lands at No. 7. Like Jones, he was one of the established names on that young 2019 roster, but an early knee injury slowed him down before he eventually went on IR.
At No. 6 is G Josh Sitton. A four-time Pro Bowl guard, Sitton was supposed to be a major help up front, but a shoulder injury in the season opener sent him to IR and effectively closed the book on his 11-year NFL career.
QB Ryan Tannehill checks in at No. 5. Losing a starting quarterback in training camp usually would rank even higher, but Miami was able to bounce back by signing Jay Cutler, who delivered a performance that was similar to what the Dolphins likely would have gotten from Tannehill.
No. 4 is OLB Jaelan Phillips in 2024. The Dolphins were already set to open that season without Bradley Chubb, who was still working back from his brutal December 2023 knee injury, and then Phillips’ comeback from an Achilles injury ended with a torn ACL in the Week 4 Monday night game. Miami suddenly found itself thin on pass-rushing help.
The top three are where the current season enters the picture. Sieler lands at No.
- Beyond being the team’s best interior defensive lineman, he also mattered because of the leadership and mentorship he provided to a very young position group.
Achane is right behind him at No. 2.
The call between Sieler and Achane was close, but Achane gets the edge because of how central he has been to the offense, not just this year but over the last two seasons. In a roster full of young, unproven players, he was the one the Dolphins could least afford to lose.
And No. 1 is WR Tyreek Hill in 2025. There’s room to argue the placement, since Miami was 0-3 when Hill suffered that catastrophic knee injury last September, but the offense had shown flashes in those first three games. Once Hill and his big-play threat were gone, it was never the same.
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