Sanders Status Still Uncertain ... And Why It's a Big Deal

Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders remains on injured reserve because of the hip injury he sustained during the preseason, and there remains no clear timeline as to when he'll be back.

Sanders has been eligible to return since Week 5 after being placed on IR with a designation to return on the day the Dolphins cut their roster to the mandated 53-player limit in late August.

The timeline for his injury, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, was 5-6 weeks, and we're past that time now.

Riley Patterson has been the Dolphins' kicker all season after being elevated from the practice squad for the first three games and then was signed to the active roster.

Special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said he didn't know when Sanders would be back, wouldn't commit to Sanders definitely being able to kick this season, but did say he had no concerns about Sanders being his old self once he does return. I know Jason's doing really well right now. He's working his tail off of trying to get back. That's the one thing I noticed. When I first met Jason, just started talking to him about his drive and what he wants to do. I'm sure he'd love to go out there and kick right now, but this guy, I know is going to work extremely hard to get back, and if it's at any point in time when he's ready, we'll be happy.

"I just want him to be healthy and get back ready to go, whether it's any type of week we want," Aukerman said. "What's best for the player right now is taking it day by day, week by week, and when he's ever ready to go, we'll be excited to have him back."

Patterson has done good work overall for the Dolphins this season, making 7 of 8 field goal attempts. The lone miss came against the L.A. Chargers last Sunday when he was wide right from 57 yards out before connecting from 47 and 27 yards.

"He's done an outstanding job for us going in there making field goals," Aukerman said. "He missed the 57-yarder, but I was really proud of him coming back, getting on the left hash, making a big field goal for us. That was big time. Some guys can go in the dumps when they miss a field goal, but Riley was ready to go and kick one. We trust Riley. We trot him back out there again to try to make a long field goal too, because that's how much confidence we have in him."

As a fill-in, Patterson indeed has done a good job for the Dolphins.

But he's also not Sanders.

THE SANDERS DIFFERENCE

There were a lot of reasons the Dolphins lost against the Chargers on Sunday, and unfortunately that missed field goal was one of them.

The miss gave the Chargers the ball at their own 47 and they took advantage of the field position to drive to a field goal that gave them a 9-7 lead in the second quarter.

The reality is that at a time when long-range field goals are almost routine, this has never been Patterson's forte.

The miss Sunday made Patterson 4-for-10 in his career on field goals of 50 yards or more, including a 1-for-4 mark the past two seasons.

Sanders, meanwhile, is 33-for-48 from that range for his career, including a remarkable 12-for-14 last season.

That's the big difference between the two kickers, and why the Dolphins need Sanders back in the lineup as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Patterson is a fine replacement. But the Dolphins gave Sanders a contract extension a couple of years back for a reason.

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