Will the Dolphins Have Holland in Indy?

This is a big season for Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland, who is in a contract year and looking for an extension — sooner rather than later.

Things have gotten complicated for Holland, though, because of the injury he sustained against the New England Patriots in Week 5. The Dolphins are back in action this week after their bye, but Holland is a question mark because of the injury, which reportedly involved a broken bone in his left hand.

Holland was spotted at practice Monday with a protective device on the hand, but the question is whether he'll be able to play and open to playing with the injury.

"Don't get it twisted, football players got into football to play football," head coach Mike McDaniel said before practice Wednesday. "He's going to be smart with the team and not be irresponsible with forcing a round peg into a square hole. But he also knows he's a very good player that we're better off with when he's playing. So I'm very comfortable with all parties involved making an appropriate decision for the right reasons and definitely spending a lot of time in the training room to try to make that come to life."

This isn't unlike an issue Holland faced late last season when he was battling knee injuries and basically pulled himself out of the season finale against the Buffalo Bills because he felt he couldn't be as productive as he normally would be.

Playing through injuries always can be a tricky proposition for players, who certainly don't want to aggravate their medical issues but also want to be there for their teammates as much as possible.

In Holland's case, the situation is exacerbated by his desire for a new contract, which is yet to happen in a year when the Dolphins were very generous in doling new deals for Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey and McDaniel himself.

HOLLAND'S PENDING FREE AGENCY

In a sense, Holland finds himself in a similar situation to Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt last season.

Like Holland, Wilkins and Hunt were two Dolphins draft picks playing out their rookie contract and they never got that extension, leading them to leave as unrestricted free agents — for Las Vegas and Carolina, respectively.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Holland has been a very good starter for the Dolphins, though it might be a stretch to call him elite no matter his Pro Football Focus grades.

PFF, which clearly hold Holland in high regard, ranks him as the top pending UFA around the NFL for next offseason.

That said, the Dolphins' recent pattern, based on what happened with Wilkins and Hunt has been to let their UFAs walk if they're not signed to an extension before the offseason arrives.

The last thing Holland wants to see for himself is what happened with center Connor Williams, who also was in a contract year (after arriving as a free agent) and sustained a nasty knee injury before he got his extension. With Williams' future uncertain as the offseason arrived, the Dolphins moved on and signed Aaron Brewer as his replacement before Williams signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the summer.

As Holland works through his injury, one would think he's thinking about all those scenarios — along with trying to help the Dolphins win — in determining how far he'll push himself to get back into the lineup.