The Miami Dolphins‘ roster bubble is crowded. The top of the depth chart may be missing some of the star talent that called Miami home in recent years, but this year’s training camp was a competitive one that offers unique challenges to Miami in their bid to finalize a 53-man roster.

For head coach Mike McDaniel, some of the decisions may ultimately be made for him. There are a number of bubble players battling against more than just other members of the roster for a spot on the Dolphins’ 53-man roster for Week 1.

Here are several storylines to watch on the Dolphins’ roster bubble that can be tied back to injuries over the next week.

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Roster bubble injury storylines to watch for the Miami Dolphins’ 90-man roster

Offensive line depth could have multiple spots opened up

The Dolphins may be in a position to stash an extra offensive lineman (or two) at the start of the cutdown window thanks to some injuries. A 2024 rule change allows teams to place two players on injured reserve with a designation for return while bypassing needing to hold a place on the initial 53-man roster — meaning teams could spare two additional cuts instead of reserving spaces for injured players for a day and then moving them to the reserve lists and hoping to sign players back that had been cut in the process.

40% of Miami’s backup offensive line has missed the bulk or all of training camp. Second-year blocker Andrew Meyer was recently spotted with an elbow brace on at the team’s practice and veteran Liam Eichenberg has yet to make an appearance on the practice field. Both could be IR to return designations and potentially save the Dolphins from having to cut a name like Daniel Brunskill, Kion Smith, or possibly Braeden Daniels.

Ethan Bonner’s injury could save a veteran if the Dolphins covet youth and upside in the nickel

The Dolphins seem to think they’ve got a big development in rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. but there’s a catch. The team moved him inside to play nickel ahead of the Dolphins’ second preseason contest against the Detroit Lions, a role he’d never played before. He crushed it.

But Miami has a veteran nickel in Mike Hilton who signed a contract with minimal guarantees earlier in training camp after the season-ending injury to cornerback Kader Kohou. Does Marshall Jr.’s emergence push Hilton off the roster? Does Miami slow play their development of a young, physical defender learning a new position?

This blurs the lines between who is playing, who is safe on the 53-man roster, and who may be on the bubble. Hilton’s contract offers just $167,500 in guaranteed money. Ethan Bonner went down with a hamstring injury against Detroit and that seems to have alleviated the pressure but if Bonner isn’t placed on injured reserve with a designation for return for one reason or another, the numbers here could still be tight.

How close is Ashtyn Davis for a return from injury?

Davis went down early in camp with lower body injury that had him in a walking boot but head coach Mike McDaniel clarified that his injury was not a season-ending one. His availability is a major question mark for the distribution of the safety room, where the Dolphins have a lot of possible candidates to carry on the 53-man roster.

It’s likely safe to assume the Dolphins will carry Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Elijah Campbell, Dante Trader Jr., and a healthy Ashtyn Davis. But if Davis isn’t healthy, does that open the door for 2024 late-round draft choice Patrick McMorris to make the team? Or is that the difference for another defensive back to land a spot?

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