The Miami Dolphins only have one game left in the 2025 regular season — a contest against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday. Despite the team no longer being in contention for the postseason, two veteran defenders are still fighting for the opportunity to play spoiler against the AFC East division champion Patriots who are still alive for the AFC’s #1 seed in the playoffs.
Speaking with the South Florida media on Monday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the injury statuses of two impact defenders — safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker Jordyn Brooks.
Brooks left Sunday’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return to the contest. When asked if he would need to protect the player from himself in regards to the linebacker’s status for Sunday, McDaniel had this to say:
“Are you going to tell [Jordyn Brooks] no?”
“Every case is different. It’s vitally important that you have relationships with each and every one of these guys so you know when to take charge of protecting people from themselves and when guys have earned the right to speak on their own behalf. There’s not a player who’s done more, sacrificed more for this team.”
McDaniel continued, “I’m confident that [Brooks] won’t put the team in a risky situation simply out of hope. He’ll do everything he can. We all know that. And we’ll take it day by day, because he’s earned that.”
Brooks remains the league leader in tackles this season with 179. However, Devin White of the Las Vegas Raiders only trails Miami’s linebacker by 5 tackles with one game left to play for each player.
Later in his media availability, McDaniel was asked if safety Minkah Fitzpatrick — who missed Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay with a calf injury — was being shut down for the year.
“I’m going to do right by Minkah and take that day by day… He’s earned the right to continue to work as he is, and to his credit, he doesn’t want to be shut down or anything like that.”
We will be monitoring Miami’s practice reports closely this week and will continue to update our readers on the injury statuses of two of the team’s best defenders.
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