With Kenny Pickett and the Steelers driving into Miami territory with the chance to steal a win on Sunday Night Football, the previously unimaginable occurred. The much-maligned former first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene high-pointed and toe-tapped a game-sealing interception to elevate the Dolphins over .500 once again. While Igbinoghene has shown signs of life in the opportunities he has gotten thus far in 2022, the circumstances leading to his increased playing time are less than ideal for Miami.
During a week seven loss to the Vikings, a Miami secondary that was already missing multiple key pieces suffered another loss when DB Nik Needham went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. Needham had become heavily relied upon this season as star corner Xavien Howard has been battling a nagging groin injury, and Byron Jones has not even seen the practice field yet. There is still no timeline for Byron Jones’ return to practice, and one might begin to wonder if he will be part of this 2022 squad at all.
Heading into week 8 against Pittsburgh, the Dolphins were then without undrafted rookie Kader Kohou (who has flashed at times this season) as well as veteran free-agent acquisition Keion Crossen. Igbinoghene was forced to step up in a game that Miami had to have. To his credit, he was serviceable and delivered the game-winning pick but it is still difficult to envision relying on him to be a crucial part of a defense with playoff aspirations.
The Dolphins fought for an ugly win against Pittsburgh on Sunday night but came away with yet another loss in the form of a torn ACL for safety Brandon Jones. Jones was enjoying his best season as a pro before he went down in the 3rd quarter. He had been one of the Dolphins’ best pass rushers in 2022 from the safety position, and alongside Jevon Holland, he helped form one of the toughest secondary duos in the league. This is a massive loss for Miami and one that will be virtually impossible to fully replace this season. In Jones’ absence, veteran safeties Eric Rowe and Clayton Fejedelem will be asked to step up. Rowe has played effectively before and can be a strong option for covering the tight end position, while Fejedelem has spent most of his time on special teams.
As the NFL’s trade market continues to stay hot, we could see Chris Grier join the party as he looks to add some reinforcements to this wounded secondary. Help is needed in Miami, and we will soon find out who the answer(s) will be.
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