Tony Lippett out for season; what this means for Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins injury news continues to stay on the front page as the team has now lost cornerback Tony Lippett for the 2017 season.

Lippett tore his Achilles tendon Monday at practice and will miss the entire 2017 season. Lippett was making big strides in his development but this set back will definitely hurt that progress. He joins a growing list of players that are being hit hard by injury including QB Ryan Tannehill, LB’s Koa Misi and Raekwon McMillan, and left guard Ted Larsen. All but Larsen are out for the year.

What’s worse is the fact that Miami still has almost a month before the start of the regular season. The Dolphins were hoping to challenge New England for the division but at the very least challenge the rest of the AFC for another Wild Card playoff berth. They still can.

The injuries have not completely set the Dolphins back. Tannehill’s injury is the worst of the bunch because the Dolphins are turning to Jay Cutler and spending over $10 million of cap space to start him. With the injuries piling up and the Dolphins sitting around $12 million of cap space, it is going to be used quickly if this continues.

Replacing Lippett won’t be difficult. Having him on the field is a positive but the Dolphins starters are Xavien Howard and Byron Maxwell. Lippett is a strong third corner and a primary back-up. Miami recently signed Alterraun Verner to compete with Bobby McCain for the slot role.

Lippett was the primary back-up to Howard but that will now likely move Lafayette Pitts up the depth charts ladder where he will compete with rookie Cordrea Tankersley. Tankersely isn’t ready for a big role yet and the Dolphins have been high on Pitts. The loss of Lippett this year will give Pitts a better chance to make the roster and the team a year to evaluate him with what could likely be regular on-field play.

The loss of Lippett also could be a good thing for Torry McTyer who has been practicing well through camp. The Dolphins have some quality competition in the secondary. Losing Lippett is not ideal as he again was developing into a solid ball-hawking corner but for now this is something Miami should be able to overcome. Provided of course that the injury bug opts to visit another team.