Breaking Down the Positive Updates Regarding Dolphins IR Defenders

Things could be trending in the right direction for the young Miami Dolphins defense.

The group is coming off its best performance of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs in the team's home opener, and reinforcements are on the way.

Cornerback Storm Duck already returned to practice this week as the first step to his first return from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, and 2025 first-round pick Kenneth Grant might follow suit next week.

And further down the line, the Dolphins still are hoping to get rookie fourth-round pick Trey Moore back from the ankle injury that landed him on IR along with Grant when the team had to make their roster moves to 53.

The big one, though, has to be Grant.

THE OUTLOOK FOR GRANT

Grant has been sidelined since training camp when he sustained an apparent foot/ankle injury that had him spotted in a walking boot.

Since the start of the regular season, Grant has been spotted (sans boot) on a regular basis during the portions of practice open to the media.

He's eligible to come off IR as early as the Week 5 game against the Cincinnati Bengals right before the Dolphins' bye in Week 6.

Head coach Jeff Hafley addressed Grant's progress before practice Friday.

"I think he's kind of grown a little bit impatient," Hafley said. "He feels better. He's eager to get going. He looks good right now. We've missed him, and that's not a knock on anybody that's out there. But we'll be excited and hopeful that we'll have him back sooner than later."

Once he returns, Grant will rejoin the four-man rotation projected heading into camp with Zach Sieler, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers.

Based on his comments, Hafley sounds cautiously optimistic about Grant's status for next week.

"Like I said, he looks good right now," Hafley said. "I don't want to give you a definitive yeah because let's see, he's got to practice, and let's see how he looks when he practices, and is he ready to play? And so I don't want to get my hopes up. And let's just say he looks good right now, and I like where he's at, and we'll see what he can do next week."

A healthy and productive Grant really could help the interior of the defensive line, which overall has done a respectable job against the run (particularly against the Chiefs) but could use a boost in the pass-rushing department.

WHAT'S UP WITH MOORE?

Moore is nowhere near as close to returning as Grant, but he continues to be on track to come back at some point in his rookie season.

He's been sidelined since sustaining an ankle injury while applying pressure on Washington Commanders QB Marcus Mariota in Miami's preseason opener.

The injury came after Moore already had earned what looked to be a significant role on defense in his first camp.

"Just saw him downstairs in the weight room and he was working out," Hafley said. "So that's really encouraging and good to see. I don't know when that will be. But I'm hopeful that that will be this year. He's a guy who at this point would have had a huge role for us. He did a really nice job in camp and put himself in position to be a guy that was out there. So we'll see when he gets back, starts practicing and I'm hopeful it'll be sometime this year."

Rest assured the Dolphins will be cautious with Moore, their fourth-round pick from Texas, and if that means holding him out for the rest of the 2026 season, so be it.

But that door on him playing this season hasn't been closed.