Dolphins' win over Cowboys came at a great cost

Fan of the Miami Dolphins have been on cloud nine since yesterday evening when the Dolphins walked off the Cowboys 22-20 on a 29-yard Jason Sanders field goal. Unfortunately, the latest news around the Dolphins has brought folks back to reality quickly. According to Mike McDaniel on Monday, Jaylen Waddle is dealing with a high ankle […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Dec 25, 2023 6:28 PM EST

Fan of the Miami Dolphins have been on cloud nine since yesterday evening when the Dolphins walked off the Cowboys 22-20 on a 29-yard Jason Sanders field goal.

Unfortunately, the latest news around the Dolphins has brought folks back to reality quickly. According to Mike McDaniel on Monday, Jaylen Waddle is dealing with a high ankle sprain.

#Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said WR Jaylen Waddle has high-ankle sprain and added, “Those can be tricky.”

This puts his availability for the rest of the regular season in doubt.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 25, 2023

Waddle left the game in the third quarter due to what was announced by the team as a shin injury. However, a day later, it appears the ailment is a high ankle sprain, which normally is a particularly debilitating injury.

Although the severity and timetable hasn't been disclosed by the Dolphins, high ankle sprains typically take at least 4 weeks to heal and often as much as 6 to 8 weeks, depending on the severity. Going off a 4-week timetable, that would carry over to the divisional round of the playoffs.

The Dolphins will face Baltimore on Sunday for a chance to gain control over the top seed with one week to play in the regular season, so being able to give their massively injured roster time to heal, which now includes Waddle, over a bye week would be a monumental reward.

Waddle was quietly having a solid season in the shadow of an All-Pro season by Tyreek Hill, breaking the 1000-yard receiving mark against Dallas. With 1014 receiving yards, he's now over 1000 receiving yards for each of his first three seasons.

Now, Miami might have to find a way to clinch the AFC East and the top seed in the AFC with a big part of their offense watching from the sideline for the rest of the regular season. A challenging final run could have just gotten even tougher for Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins.