Another Setback for Dolphins Offensive Line
The Miami Dolphins offensive line indeed will have a new look this week and for at least the two games after that.
Head coach Brian Flores said Friday that center Michael Deiter will be going on injured reserve because of an injury he sustained at practice Wednesday.
Deiter showed up on the injury report that day with an ailment listed as foot/quad.
It's unknown exactly how long Deiter will have to be out, but it obviously will be at least three weeks, meaning he will miss the games against the Colts, Buccaneers in Week 5 and against the Jaguars in London in Week 6.
Based on the roster, it seems almost certain that the replacement would be training camp acquisition Greg Mancz because he’s the only one of the four backup offensive linemen who has started a game at center in the NFL.
Flores also confirmed Friday that training camp acquisition Greg Mancz will start at center against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, which seemed like the obvious assumption because he’s the only one of the four backup offensive linemen who has started a game at center in the NFL.
There's also the possibility that the Dolphins could bring up center Cameron Tom from the practice squad, whether as an elevation or as a promotion to the 53-man roster.
The Dolphins picked up Mancz in the offseason in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round pick, with Miami also getting a 2022 seventh-round selection.
For anybody wondering about the really low price tag, understand that Mancz was not expected to make the Ravens’ 53-man roster at the time of the trade Aug. 28.
Mancz played in four games with the Houston Texans in 2020, all of them after being elevated from the practice squad and then joined the Ravens practice squad in the playoffs.
By all appearances, Deiter actually might have been the team’s best offensive lineman over the first three games — though what exactly that means given the state of the O-line …
For example, it was Deiter who got the best grades on the offensive line from Pro Football Focus for the game against Las Vegas on Sunday.
With Deiter out, it will mean a fourth different starting offensive line in four games for the 2021 Dolphins.
Liam Eichenberg started at left tackle in the opener at New England, but was replaced by Austin Jackson in Week 2 against Buffalo. Then Eichenberg started at right tackle and Jesse Davis moved to left guard for the game against Las Vegas.
The problem is that the offensive line has not performed at high efficiency in any of those games.
And now getting things back on track will have to be done, at the very least for the next few weeks, without Deiter.
