Tua Tagovailoa has been benched, Matt Judon has been released, and now Minkah Fitzpatrick has been ruled out of Week 16. The Miami Dolphins have only one choice with their veteran defensive back...keep him out of the last three games.
The Dolphins are playing for nothing. They can call it pride, they can call it the love of the game, but they are not playing for anything more than closing out the season and not getting hurt. Fitzpatrick didn't make it to the end; he shouldn't be expected to.
Miami's best choice is to keep Fitzpatrick on the sidelines. On Friday, Mike McDaniel announced that Fitzpatrick will not play this week due to a calf injury, but he might want to keep him there.
Miami Dolphins can't afford to lose players ahead of the 2026 season for meaningless football games
The Dolphins can't bench everyone, but they should consider keeping guys like Fitzpatrick, who is already banged up, in street clothes. Guys like De'Von Achane should be on pitch counts while the team plays younger guys to get an idea of their value to the franchise.
Miami should be in 2026 mode right now, and if they are not, it's because McDaniel is worried about his job. He should be, but the Dolphins have to let him know that he can't risk players for nothing more than his own retention.
Fitzpatrick is the only player listed as out thus far. McDaniel told the media that everyone else participated in some form during the practice sessions on Friday.
That is good news as it relates to Jordyn Brooks. Brooks has not practiced this week due to a knee/foot injury. McDaniel wouldn't say he will play with certainty, but he did not rule him out either.
The Dolphins will not simply lie down and take "L's," but at the same time, they should know how badly a team can be hurt when starters that are expected to play a role the following year are starting the season on IR after an injury the previous year.
Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb are key examples of what can happen. Those games may not have been meaningless when the injuries occurred, but it doesn't change the optics.