The Miami Dolphins’ 2019 roster was a thin one to begin with, but the team didn’t necessary catch any favors from the football gods with how quickly their roster was depleted on account of injuries. The Dolphins saw prominent players such as Xavien Howard, Reshad Jones, Jakeem Grant and others all wind up on the injured reserve by the end of the season — and now we have the numbers to quantify just how much value the Dolphins lost.
According to Spotrac, only four teams in the NFL finished the year with more cap commitments designated on injured reserve — the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers.
Most 2019 Cap $ Spent in Injured Reservehttps://t.co/UaPiWPm6wK
1. #Redskins, $49M
2. #Jets, $35M
3. #Steelers, $32M
4. #Panthers, $27M
5. #Dolphins, $25M
…
30. #Bills, $4.8M
31. #Rams, $3.3M
32. #Vikings, $1.7M— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 3, 2020
All the more daunting for Miami? Take into consideration how small their active roster payroll was this season to begin with! The Dolphins’ 2019 salary cap commitments were as light as we’ve seen in South Florida for forever — and the Dolphins still lost $25M to injury. When compared to the healthiest times in the NFL, it’s easy to see how the Dolphins talent level was so tested in stretches of the 2019 season.
But it also makes the work the Miami Dolphins did down the stretch in the second half of the year all that much more impressive. This roster lost their most expensive and valuable players and still managed to transition from 0-7 over the first seven games to 5-4 over their final 9.
…where can we cast our vote for Brian Flores as the NFL’s Coach of the Year, again?
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