Change has been the one constant for the Miami Dolphins’ starting offensive line this season, and that unit will likely be forced to play without another one of its top veterans this week.
Ereck Flowers, a former University of Miami standout the Dolphins added as a free agent this past offseason, signing him to a three-year, $30 million deal, suffered what appeared to be a serious left ankle injury in last Sunday’s 19-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Flowers didn’t practice on Wednesday, which means the Dolphins are likely trying to figure out who will start at left guard this Sunday.
When Flowers left the Bengals game Solomon Kindley replaced him, returning to the spot he played most of his collegiate career at the University of Georgia, and Jesse Davis replaced Kindley as the Dolphins’ first-team right guard.
Miami will likely continue to use that lineup, which features three rookies in the starting, unit during Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against the Kansas City Chiefs, unless another injury surfaces or someone excels in practice this week.
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Kindley, the Dolphins’ 2020 fourth-round pick, has started all 10 of the games he’s played this season. He’s been nursing a foot injury that kept him sidelined against the New York Jets, but seems to be healthy enough to finish the season on the field.
Davis, who has started 52 of the 59 games he’s played the past four seasons, was demoted last Sunday and didn’t start. He served as a backup while Robert Hunt started his seventh game of the season as a rookie.
Flowers’ injury likely opens the door for Davis to regain a starting role. But he’ll likely need to outperform Michael Deiter, who started 15 games at left guard last season, and Adam Pankey this week in practice to keep his starter status.
Last Sunday the Dolphins offensive line didn’t allow a sack for the second time all season, and paved the way for Miami’s running game to produce over 100 rushing yards for the second consecutive week.
The Dolphins haven’t placed Flowers on injured reserve, so there’s a chance he’ll return at some point in the final four weeks of the regular season.
The Dolphins offensive line has had four different starting units this season because of the foot injury that sidelined rookie Austin Jackson for four games, Kindley’s one-game absence and Davis’ demotion last Sunday.
Injury update:
Two of the Dolphins’ starting linebackers — Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts — were held out of Wednesday’s practice.
Roberts suffered a chest injury against the Bengals, and Calvin Munson and Kamu Grugier-Hill replaced him in the game. ...
Rookie tailback Salvon Ahmed, who has been nursing a shoulder injury for the past two weeks, also did not practice.
Last Sunday the Dolphins only had two tailbacks available on the active roster because Matt Breida is on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list, and DeAndre Washington suffered a hamstring injury the previous week. Washington practiced on Wednesday.
