Miami Dolphins left guard spot an open competition

The Miami Dolphins may or may not have lost a quarterback on Thursday but they did lose an offensive lineman and that leaves a hole in an already questionable camp battle.

The top news of Thursday was obviously Ryan Tannehill but under that news headline was word that offensive guard Ted Larsen tore his bicep and will now miss the rest of training camp and potentially a month of the regular season.

To be clear the Dolphins have been rotating their guards all camp and Larsen may have been the penciled in starter but he hasn’t been “named” the starter. Thus far Larsen, Kraig Urbik, and even Jake Brendel have taken snaps at left guard as has Anthony Steen. All with the first team unit. Miami is looking for the right fix at the position.

Many believe that the Dolphins should hit the free agent line to find a replacement for Larsen and they might. It’s still a little early in the camp process and there are some veterans like Nick Mangold who are available. As is recently signed and released (by New Orleans) guard Orlando Franklin. Will Miami look in that direction? It’s anyone’s guess at this point and even those in the media who are reliable with inside information have been awfully quiet this time of year.

Larsen isn’t a huge loss because he doesn’t have a long list of starting gigs during his NFL career and isn’t considered one of the best guards in the league or for tha matter on the Dolphins. He is at best a solid depth player but his loss still leaves Miami with a lack of depth at an already thin position.

The Dolphins really didn’t feel the need to address the guard position with a top guard in free agency and only turned to Isaac Asiata in round four of the draft. The only offensive player the team drafted.

Asiata has not taken snaps with the first team unit according to those attending practices. It’s been mentioned by several in the media that Asiata isn’t ready yet but that was something that was said about him after he was drafted.

While all eyes are on Tannehill, the offensive line can’t be overlooked.