The Latest with the Dolphins Offensive Line

With one more actual practice left before the Miami Dolphins' Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens, questions remain about what the offensive line is going to look like at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.

It does look like the Dolphins will be without right tackle Austin Jackson, who has not practiced so far this week as the result of the ankle injury that sidelined him in the second quarter of the opener against the New England Patriots.

Left tackle Terron Armstead was back at practice Thursday but was listed as limited with the toe injury he sustained in the fourth quarter against New England. Armstead did not participate Wednesday with the toe injury being accompanied by a "not injury related - vet rest" designation.

If there's good news on the offensive line is that it does look as though backup tackle Greg Little will be available after missing a play against New England because of an ankle injury. Little was listed as a full participant in practice both Wednesday and Thursday.

THE BIG CONCERN WITH ARMSTEAD

In the big picture, the biggest concern here, maybe not in terms of the severity of the injury but because of the player involved is Armstead.

There's clearly no overstating his importance to the offensive line and any injury he sustains will be cause for concern given his lengthy injury history — he has played more than 10 games only twice in the past six seasons.

"I know Terron in his career has been able to fight through injuries with the best of them," head coach Mike McDaniel said before practice Wednesday. "So you know that they're going to do their best. And we'll obviously make the best decision later in the week on who gives us the best chance to win counting in all those issues with injuries and what it kind of looks like."

McDaniel said Wednesday that Jackson's ankle was "for sure not broken."

"It's one of those issues that ankles are finicky," McDaniel said. "He's doing everything he can to get ready."

THE DOLPHINS OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

It was starting left guard Liam Eichenberg who replaced Armstead for the two snaps he missed against New England, while Robert Hunt slid over from right guard to take the one snap without Jackson and Little.

The Dolphins currently have three offensive linemen on the practice squad with tackles Larnel Coleman and Kion Smith and guard James Emprey, and the possibility certainly exists that one or more of them could be elevated for the game at Baltimore.

There have been reports of veteran tackle Brandon Shell agreeing to terms to join the Dolphins practice squad, but that move hadn't been made official as of late Thursday afternoon and there's no way he would be available in such short time.

As to the starting lineup in the event Armstead can't play, the two clear options would be to go again with Eichenberg at left tackle and insert either Robert Jones or Michael Deiter at left guard, or have Greg Little play left tackle, the position he played at the University of Mississippi and in his first two seasons with the Carolina Panthers before they traded him to the Dolphins in August 2021.

If Armstead can play but Jackson can't, then having Little start at right tackle seems like the most likely move given the way things played out against New England.

The possibility exists that we'll get some answers Friday and the best answer that could surface would be Armstead being removed entirely from the injury report and not receiving a game status designation.