The Miami Dolphins officially tell us something we’ve suspected for one of their most popular rookies
Miami Dolphins rookie wide receiver Chris Bell is, officially, on an injury-designation list.
The Miami Dolphins‘ rookie class showed up to the Baptist Health Training Complex on Tuesday, marking the first day of their 2026 training camp.
The Dolphins have as many rookie draft picks in their building as anyone in 2026 and, as a result, Miami has one of the youngest rosters in football. This class is going to do a whole bunch of heavy lifting for the end result of this season in Miami. But the season getting rolling for one such rookie is, officially on hold. It’s not necessarily a surprise, but the Miami Dolphins confirmed our suspicion on Tuesday. They placed rookie wide receiver Chris Bell on the Non-Football Injury (active) list.
The Miami Dolphins officially place rookie wide receiver on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list
What does this mean for Bell? It’s just like the NFL’s physically unable to perform (PUP) list. He still counts against the 90-man roster. He is eligible to be activated at any point in time, but he cannot practice until he is cleared. And, should Bell stay on the NFI (active) list through roster cuts at the end of the preseason? The Dolphins could keep him on the NFI list into the regular season.
At that point, he would be required to miss at least the first four weeks of the 2026 NFL season.
Bell, of course, is coming off of a torn ACL suffered at Louisville. Because the injury was suffered while in college, Bell is classified as a “non-football injury” for NFL purposes. The full extent of his recovery window is yet to be determined, although the Miami Dolphins have been cautious with messaging around Bell’s return all summer. Time will tell. But for now, the suspicion has been confirmed — Chris Bell’s season will start at a slower pace than the rest of his rookie classmates.
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