What Dolphins' Latest Moves Says About Banged-Up Secondary

The Miami Dolphins had yet another shake-up in their secondary become official Tuesday. 

The team placed cornerback Storm Duck on injured reserve after coach Mike McDaniel said the second-year DB would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury Monday. 

Duck suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Dolphins' 34-10 win against the Atlanta Falcons. He was carted off the field and was in clear discomfort. 

The Louisville product missed Weeks 2 through 7 after suffering an injury 29 snaps into the season against the Indianapolis Colts. Duck was pegged as a starter, but Rasul Douglas took his place and didn’t give it up. 

Duck is not the only cornerback hitting the Injured Reserve, either. Kendall Sheffield was also placed on the practice squad/injured list Tuesday. Sheffield also left the game on Sunday with an injury. 

Sheffield was a midseason practice squad addition after spending the entire offseason program and training camp with the Dolphins. 

Miami hasn’t filled Duck’s spot on the active roster yet, but it did bring back a familiar name to the practice squad. The Dolphins re-signed cornerback Ethan Robinson, who spent training camp with the team after going undrafted this past Spring. 

He finished his collegiate career at Minnesota, where he started 13 games and recorded 42 tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. 

Miami’s Secondary Woes

The Dolphins’ secondary has gone through a lot of injuries this season. It lost Kader Kohou and Artie Burns in the preseason to major knee injuries, with Kohou a particularly big loss. 

The team also lost slot cornerback Cornell Armstrong, who was filling in for Jason Marshall Jr. after he landed on injured reserve following the team’s Week 3 loss against Buffalo. 

There’s some good news on that front because Miami opened Marshall’s 21-day return window last week. He didn’t play in Week 8, but when he’s healthy, he’ll be back on the field and it's easy to see him being activated for the Baltimore game and taking Duck's place on the roster.

The team is banged up at safety, too. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ashtyn Davis, and Ifeatu Melifonwu all suffered injuries against the Falcons. Melifonwu is the only one who finished the game, but McDaniel said Fitzpatrick should be good to go on Thursday against the Ravens. 

Fitzpatrick was listed as a full participant on Monday’s estimated practice report, while Davis was a “DNP,” and Melifonwu was “limited.”

Backup safety Elijah Campbell has missed the last three games with a quad injury, and Jordan Colbert has apparently been transitioned to linebacker. 

Miami’s safety depth is thin, and its cornerback depth took another blow this week. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them add another name to this group soon.