The Miami Dolphins have what might be a great defensive front line forming. While Zach Sieler continues to recover from an injury and Kenneth Grant missed a lot of training camp, the backups have looked quite good.
Now, Grant will start his second NFL season on injured reserve. While he has been designated to return, he will miss the first four weeks of the season. He has been dealing with a lower leg injury that the Dolphins have kept under wraps. Jeff Hafley has been open about his week-to-week status and admitted that IR has been discussed as an option. On cut day, they made that a fact.
While nobody wants to see a player land on the injured list, Grant's injury may have played a role in keeping a summer stand out on the roster.
Kenneth Grant's injury may have opened the door for Keith Cooper Jr. to make the Miami Dolphins roster
As fans, we have no idea what Grant is going to do in this scheme. His rookie year didn't stand out, as it was full of inconsistent play, missed opportunities, and talk that he was only good in Michigan because he played next to Mason Graham.
This year, we haven't seen enough of him in practice, and we didn't see him at all in a single preseason game. Fans did, however, get an opportunity to see Keith Cooper Jr., who looked good throughout camp and preseason.
The Dolphins will carry just four defensive tackles into the season. Sieler, Jordan Phillips, Zeek Biggers, and Cooper rounded out the unit.
Cooper is still deep on the depth chart behind Sieler and Biggers, but his play throughout camp can't be summarily glossed over. The undrafted defensive lineman had a solid camp and looked good in preseason as he took advantage of every opportunity.
Losing Grant stings, but this is the NFL and injuries happen. It's a setback for a player that Hafley said was going to have a great season, that still may be the case, but we will have to wait at least four weeks into the season, and then hope he can rebound from a rather poor start to his career in 2025.
Miami has an incredibly young football team, the youngest in the entire league. Losing any players is going to be a problem, whether they start on IR or land on it later. Still, it's good to see so much potential for the coaching staff to try and unlock during a season without many expectations.
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