Dolphins Lose Artis Hicks To Neck Injury

On the same day that the Miami Dolphins released QB David Garrard they lost offensive guard Arits Hicks for the season after suffering a neck injury.  The injury will keep out for the entire season and he will not be able to return in six weeks under the new NFL IR rules.  Unfortunately, it happened too late for a mention on last nights season ending episode of Hard Knocks.

The Dolphins have reached out to the agent of lineman Jake Scott for a 3rd time this off-season.  Having worked him out twice this off-season but not offering a contract on either visit.  Last season Scott was ranked by Pro-Football Focus as the 9th best offensive guard in the league.  Yet with the injuries around the NFL he is still without a job.  An indication there may be something more beneath the surface.  The Dolphins did re-sign guard Rey Feinga who was released last week.

The Dolphins will face the Houston Texans this weekend in their opening game of the season.  The Texans have one of the highest rated defenses going into the season and will pose multiple blitz threats against the weakened Dolphins line as well as rattling a rookie QB starting his first regular season game in the NFL.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Hicks isn’t the only Olineman with issues.

John Jerry who was shown being pushed by the coaches to get better during this season of HK is nursing and injury that may keep out Sunday and starting Pro-Bowl LT Jake Long is still trying to come back from his MCL sprain.  For a young team with 11 rookies on the roster, one of which is the QB and another is the right tackle, not to mention a rookie HC, the outlook for this weekend is growing dim.  The fact that the team played so poorly during the four pre-season games isn’t making anyone truly comfortable going into Sunday.

The Dolphins have a laundry list of needs right now.  Cornerback depth is a must, safety depth wouldn’t hurt, the offensive line is a huge question once again on the right hand side, and WR has been the Dolphins bane all training camp.

Fans will wonder why the Dolphins haven’t made any moves with available free agents.  One of the reasons could be the NFL rules that state a veteran on a teams roster to open the season has their contract fully guaranteed for that year.  If the Dolphins wait until Monday they can bring players in and release them without having to cover their contracts.  Of course, Monday is far too late for a team that is getting ready to play a tough opponent on Sunday.