Safety Brandon Jones has been lining up every week despite always being on the injury report with an ankle injury, but he'll miss the Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers now that he's got an elbow injury on top of it.
Jones was declared inactive Sunday morning after being limited in practice all week and being listed as questionable on the final injury report.
With Jones out, it would make sense that Eric Rowe would return to the starting lineup alongside rookie second-round pick Jevon Holland. Rowe has made two starts this season after starting 29 games the past two seasons.
The other big news regarding the Dolphins inactive list concerns who's not on there, specifically running back Phillip Lindsay.
The former Pro Bowl selection and two-time 1,000-yard rusher was claimed off waivers from Houston on Wednesday and had the benefit of only two practices, including a walk-through before this game. Because of that limited time with his new team, logic says that Lindsay's playing time will be very limited at best.
Also active against Carolina will be two recent high draft picks, 2020 first-round selection Noah Igbinoghene and 2021 third-round choice Hunter Long.
Igbinoghene likely will get snaps on special teams but probably not on defense considering the team's top four cornerbacks — Byron Jones, Xavien Howard, Nik Needham and Justin Coleman — are healthy and active against Carolina.
As for Long, he will replace injured tight end Adam Shaheen, who is out with a knee injury and will be active for only the fourth time in his rookie season. With Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe ahead of him, there's no guarantee Long will get a ton of snaps even if he's active.
Along with Shaheen, cornerback Trill Williams (hamstring) also will miss the game because of an injury.
The other Dolphins inactives will be newly acquired safety Will Parks, outside linebacker Darius Hodge and veteran defensive tackle John Jenkins.
CAROLINA INACTIVES
The biggest name on the list of Carolina inactives is starting guard John Miller, who was downgraded to out Saturday and will miss a fourth game in five weeks because of an ankle injury.
Also inactive for the Panthers will be rookie second-round Terrace Marshall Jr., a wide receiver from LSU.
It should be noted that one of the two players Carolina elevated from its practice squad for this game was wide receiver Matt Cole, who was in training camp with the Dolphins in 2020.
More must-reads: