Dolphins' Potential Starting CB Leaves Game vs. Lions

The Miami Dolphins’ secondary is already dealing with a lot of injuries this preseason, and it might be down another cornerback. 

Ethan Bonner left the Dolphins’ preseason Week 2 game against the Detroit Lions with a potential injury in the first quarter. Bonner was injured after covering Tom Kennedy across the field. It looked like Bonner landed weirdly, and his leg got stuck a bit. 

He immediately signaled to be taken out of the game and touched his right knee briefly. After spending some time in the blue medical tent, Bonner walked with a Dolphins trainer to the locker room and hasn't returned.

It should be noted that Bonner started the game opposite Storm Duck. The Dolphins sat their assumed starters on Sunday, but all of the cornerbacks — except for veteran Mike Hilton — suited up, so Bonner getting the nod means he was climbing his way up the depth chart a bit. 

Bonner made a great play against the Bears last week when he deflected a pass over the middle, leading to an easy interception for safety Patrick McMorris. 

The former UDFA played just 27 defensive snaps the past two seasons, but since Miami’s cornerback room is so underwhelming, he had a real shot to win the starting job. 

Miami’s CB Woes 

The Dolphins have arguably the worst cornerback room in the sport, so losing Bonner, who has been performing well during camp, would be a tough blow, even if he’s not a proven player. 

The Dolphins need all the help they can get at cornerback since they lost Kader Kohou and Artie Burns to season-ending injuries earlier this summer, too. Kohou was the only player who had locked down a starting spot coming into camp. 

If Bonner does miss some time, that leaves the Dolphins with Duck, Hilton, Kendall Sheffield, Jason Marshall Jr., Cam Smith, and Isaiah Johnson. Again, Bonner isn’t a proven player, but reports out of camp indicated he was making plays somewhat consistently. 

Duck has four career starts as a 2024 UDFA and was shaky at best last year. Sheffield hasn’t played meaningful football since 2020. Jones is on his third team in four years and is very feast or famine. Hilton is really the only proven commodity, and he’s on the wrong side of 30.

That doesn’t even get into Smith, a former second-round pick, who is firmly on the roster bubble and has spent a good portion of training camp injured. 

Somehow, Miami’s cornerback situation continues to get worse.