The Miami Dolphins had legitimate Super Bowl hopes for this season, but those hopes have taken a sizable hit.
Veteran star cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who they traded for during the offseason, suffered a knee injury early in training camp and is expected to be out until December.
Stud wide receiver Jaylen Waddle had also been dealing with an injury of his own — an oblique ailment.
But good news came for the team on Thursday, as Waddle was able to fully participate in practice, per NFL.com.
Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle upgraded to a full participant Thursday https://t.co/KWJrxhcpVy pic.twitter.com/XgH6vNWuDk
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) September 7, 2023
This is very welcome news for Miami, as they will likely have to win largely with offense, at least until Ramsey returns.
They do have the potential to be one of the NFL’s best offensive teams, as Waddle and Tyreek Hill could be the best wide receiver tandem around.
Last year, Waddle, who was in his second pro season, had 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns, while Hill amassed a career-high 1,710 receiving yards plus seven touchdowns.
Their prolific production resulted in the Dolphins ranking fourth in both passing yards and touchdowns in 2022.
Of course, lots of the burden falls on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who showed significant improvement last year, only to fade in December.
The big concern with him is his health — he suffered multiple concussions and spent lots of time in concussion protocol, and it led some to plead with him to call it quits.
But Tagovailoa is continuing to play, and he will look to make Miami very competitive in a very competitive conference and division.
