Miami Herald

Dolphins’ Chubb, Wynn to miss at least four games

The Dolphins will begin the season without one of their top pass rushers and without one of their best pass-blocking offensive linemen.

Guard Isaiah Wynn (lower body injury) and edge rusher Bradley Chubb — who’s coming off a Dec. 31 torn ACL — will begin the season on the reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list, sidelining them for at least the first four games of the season.

Backup defensive end Cam Goode, who sustained a torn petellar tendon in Week 17 against Buffalo, also will begin the season on that reserve/ PUP list. Coach Mike McDaniel said he isn’t sure if receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who also remains on the active/ PUP list with an undisclose­d injury, will begin the season on the active roster or move to the reserve/PUP list.

The Dolphins had two options with those four players who are currently on active/PUP: put them on the 53-man roster to begin the season or move them to the reserve/PUP list, which would require them to miss the first four games.

That decision must be made by 4 p.m. Tuesday, when teams must trim their rosters to 53.

With Wynn out at least four games, Rob Jones is

the likely starter at left guard. The Dolphins have declined to say whether Wynn’s absence is directly related to his seasonendi­ng quadriceps injury last October.

With Chubb and Goode sidelined for at least four games and potentiall­y longer, the Dolphins will rely on Jaelan Phillips, Emmanuel Ogbah and rookies Chop Robinson and Mo Kamara as their edge players. (Quinton Bell also could be in the mix.)

OTHER INJURIES

As for other injuries, several Dolphins expected

to be either starters or rotation players were still sidelined Monday.

That included defensive tackle Benito Jones (who has now been out nearly three weeks with an undisclose­d injury), cornerback Jalen Ramsey (McDaniel has said he’s fine), linebacker Anthony Walker (who has missed most of training camp), cornerback Cam Smith (believed to be dealing with a hamstring injury) and center Aaron Brewer (hand; status in question for the Sept. 8 opener against visiting Jacksonvil­le).

Also not participat­ing in Monday’s practice: running back Jaylen Wright; receivers River Cracraft (shoulder), Erik Ezukanma (lower body issue) and Braylon Sanders; tight end Durham Smythe and linebacker Wyatt Ray.

Also, receiver Tyreek Hill is still dealing with a finger injury reportedly sustained during a joint practice with Washington 11 days ago. He wasn’t catching passes Monday but was wearing wide receiver gloves. There was no protective wrap on the finger.

Meanwhile, receiver Jaylen Waddle — who has been dealing with an undisclose­d injury for weeks — was wearing a compressio­n sleeve on his left leg and was dressed in a red, non-contact jersey.

Also wearing red noncontact jerseys: running back Chris Brooks (who has been in concussion protocol) and tight end Tanner Conner (who was injured in the first preseason game).

Safety Jevon Holland, who has missed most of the past two weeks with an undisclose­d injury, was rehabbing on the sideline.

Rookie safety Patrick McMorris, who was injured during Wednesday’s joint practice in Tampa Bay, was no longer wearing the walking boot that he used before Friday’s preseason game against the Buccaneers.

McMorris didn’t play in that game.

Meanwhile, second-year offensive tackle Ryan Hayes was wearing a walking boot. Defensive tackle Brandon Pili, who left the field limping during Friday’s preseason finale, practiced Monday and is fine, McDaniel said.

BACKUP QB DECISION

McDaniel said he will not be surprised if the team adds a third quarterbac­k to join Tua Tagovailoa and Skylar Thompson. But he wasn’t sure if that QB will be on the 53-man roster or practice squad.

McDaniel praised Thompson, who won the No. 2 job against Mike White, noting, “I see a better quarterbac­k now than I did at the beginning of camp, than last year and the year before . ... I see teammates believe in him.”

McDaniel said of the backup quarterbac­ks: “We don’t need an experience­d guy.

“We can go with a guy who has a high ceiling. I think this particular QB room we can go with a young guy, an old guy or just a good guy.”

Here’s what to know about rules regarding regular-season availabili­ty of third quarterbac­ks:

1. Quarterbac­ks on the ●

practice squad are not eligible to come into a game unless that quarterbac­k has been elevated for that specific game, before

the game.

Every NFL player on a practice squad can be elevated no more than three times in a season, and that applies to quarterbac­ks.

So if a team with only two quarterbac­ks on the 53-man roster loses both of those quarterbac­ks to injury during the game, the practice squad QB cannot enter the game unless he happens to have been elevated for that game.

2. Under the “inactive/emergency

● third quarterbac­k” rule, teams carrying three quarterbac­ks on the 53-man roster don’t need to make the third quarterbac­k active for the game to preserve his chance of playing in a game.

There’s a specific circumstan­ce where a third quarterbac­k on the 53man roster can be inactive for the game and yet still enter the game: if the other two quarterbac­ks are injured (or ejected) and cannot return. An emergency third quarterbac­k cannot enter a game because one of the other two quarterbac­ks is benched.

3. Once that “inactive”

● third quarterbac­k enters the game, the other two quarterbac­ks cannot return to the game.

4. Teams must have

● two bona fide quarterbac­ks on the active game day list in order to designate an emergency third quarterbac­k. So a team cannot keep one quarterbac­k on the 53-man roster but then use an emergency third quarterbac­k if the starter goes down.