Dolphins vs. Bengals Week 5: Who’s In, Who’s Out?

Dolphins vs. Bengals Week 5: Who’s In, Who’s Out?

Four Miami Dolphins players are set to miss Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a myriad of injuries, and their confirmed absences will no doubt impact the team’s depth as it hopes to avoid a 0-5 start to the season.

Maybe the most notable scratch is rookie wideout Caleb Douglas, who will miss his third consecutive game after a record-setting rookie debut last month.

His absence further limits the team’s options at wide receiver and puts even more pressure on Malik Washington and Chris Bell to play well. In the Dolphins’ last game, against the Minnesota Vikings, Washington was easily their best receiver with a team-high 67 yards on five receptions, while Bell cost the team a touchdown after a 68-yard touchdown reception was waved off because he stepped out of bounds.

Douglas’ absence is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Dolphins players who have been ruled out. Defensive end Robert Beal will also be sidelined with a hamstring injury, leaving the team without another true option in its edge-rushing rotation behind starters Chop Robinson and Josh Uche.

Beal, a fourth-year pro and fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers back in the 2023 NFL Draft, agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Miami back in March.

Rounding out the guys ruled out are tight end Justin Joly, who’s down for the count with a concussion, and cornerback Reese Taylor. Joly, a depth option, is a rookie fifth-round pick out of North Carolina State, while Taylor has been a key member of the Dolphins’ special teams unit so far this season.

But to end on a positive note, defensive lineman Kenneth Grant (toe) could return to the field on Sunday after starting the campaign on injured reserve. After all, Grant fully participated in Friday’s practice and is listed as questionable to play.