During last season’s Week 6 battle against the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins defensive back Nik Needham suffered an Achilles injury, ending his 2022 campaign.
After an offseason of recovery, re-signing with the Miami Dolphins to a one-year deal and more relentless rehabilitation, Needham is reloaded, as he’s returning to practice on Wednesday.
Buy Dolphins TicketsPlaced on the reserve/PUP list following training camp, Needham practicing on Wednesday starts a 21-day league clock, in which he must be activated. If the Dolphins don’t activate him he’ll be forced to miss the remainder of the season.
The latter will not be applicable here.
Needham could return as early as this upcoming Week 5 New York Giants, of if there’s a decision to wait one more week, the Week 6 Carolina Panthers game could be the latest scenario.
Whether it’s Week 5 or Week 6, Needham will hit the field a few days under a full calendar year from when he suffered a once career-threatening type of injury – a testament to Needham’s drive, work ethic and rehab dedication, where he essentially lived in the gym.
The Dolphins could even find extremely creative ways to utilize Needham, who’s had a very interesting trajectory as an NFL defensive back.
As an undrafted rookie in 2019, he was cut from the initial 53-man roster and retained on the practice squad. He was elevated in Week 5 that season and faced Washington. His first career tackle was bringing down Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. It was his sole tackle on that day, but he also recorded a pass defended in his professional debut. He played 49% of the defensive snaps that game, which ended up his lowest seasonal total, as he took over for an injured Xavien Howard who hit injured reserve in Week 9.
In those nine games as a rookie tasked with replacing a Pro Bowl player, he recorded 10 passes defensed, two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble. The first game he replaced Howard for the remainder of the season was Week 9 against the Colts when he hauled in his first career interception.
2020 wasn’t necessarily a boom season for Needham, but in 2021 he was converted to slot duties and excelled. He was Pro Football Focus’ top-graded coverage slot corner at 90.8 for those with a minimum of 25 snaps. In fact, in all of 2021, he didn’t give up a touchdown. Not one.
On the season, when quarterbacks targeted his way, their collective quarterback rating was just 73.4. He also took back an Ian Book pass on Monday Night Football Week 16 for his very first career touchdown, a “Nik-six” as some call it.
In 2022, Needham was looking to build on that momentum heading into a contract season following a restricted free agent pick-up deal by the Dolphins to keep him home. Despite the injury last season, and his pending free agency, Miami doubled down on their investment in him, and it looks like he’s ready to vest for an organization that has believed in him from that draft weekend back in 2019. Needham received several calls minutes after the conclusion of that selection process, Miami being the first and most interested.
Not only will Needham be back, but it could also be a safe bet to see his continued utilization as a “defensive back” and not just a “cornerback.” Feel free to break that down as you like, but the term Chess Piece is one that immediately comes to mind, especially when factoring in Needham’s strengths.
An excellent tackler and a ballhawk over the middle in that slot area, Needham could see a bit of action at safety, in a potential rotation with other players like Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott. This could mix in more options and flexibility for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Of course, Needham’s boundary and nickel corner skills added to this potential at safety could make him yet another “flex” type of defensive back. Now, add in rookie Cam Smith and eventually the return of Jalen Ramsey, and all of a sudden, the Dolphins’ defensive backfield could be enhanced as we get further into the season.
Specifically, back to Needham, his “keep grinding” attitude and dedication to his craft comes at a time in which Miami can use a spark following a beatdown in Buffalo Week 4. Over the next two games, the Dolphins will see two opponents Needham is familiar with. Of the six teams that he’s intercepted in his career, the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers are both on that list.
In his career, Needham has 192 total tackles, 25 passes defensed, six interceptions and three sacks. He also has six quarterback hits as well as a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
