Dolphins safety Jevon Holland is not going to be sidelined by an injury for very long. The third-year starter has missed three games this season (the most he’s missed in his short carer) while dealing with reported knee injuries. In an interview with Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley, Holland stated that the Dolphins defender has been dealing with two MCL sprains.
Many players will have to miss several games due to a single MCL sprain because those knee ligament injuries are not to be taken lightly. Holland, however, is eager to move on from his lost time and tells Beasley that “he’s optimistic about playing this week.” The defense would be happy to see Holland back on the field because the team’s other starting safety, DeShon Elliott, is out this week due to a concussion he sustained during Miami’s unexpected loss to the Titans on Monday.
Here are a few other injury rumors from around the NFL:
- Packers running back A.J. Dillon has already been asked to step into a starting role with Aaron Jones out for the past three weeks. Green Bay may be down another rusher as Dillon reportedly suffered a broken thumb in the team’s loss to the Giants on Monday night, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Like Holland, Dillon isn’t one to miss time with an injury. During his rookie season, he was sidelined by COVID-19, the only games he has missed in his career. However, he has never played while suffering from a broken thumb. Although Dillon is attempting to determine whether he can play through the injury, he is listed as questionable going into the weekend. The main problem is that other teams will be aware of the injury, and their attempts to force fumbles could inflict more damage.
- Isiah Pacheco has only missed one game since taking over as the Chiefs‘ starting running back in Week 2, sitting out for last week’s loss to the Bills. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, head coach Andy Reid reported that Pacheco underwent “a clean up procedure on his shoulder” that will force him to miss this weekend’s matchup with the Patriots, as well. Reid expects that Pacheco should be able to return after that.
- Another running back, rookie rusher Kendall Miller of the Saints, has missed the team’s last four games due to an ankle injury. This weekend, he is expected to miss a fifth straight game. According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Miller’s season is far from over. Although the TCU product might not return right away following this week’s game, Underhill believes the 21-year-old could play in Tampa Bay in Week 17.
- Finally, it’s safe to say that second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam of the Bills hasn’t played at his best yet in his sophomore campaign. The Florida native’s year in 2023 has been marred by injuries; of the three games he has played in, the most recent one saw him exclusively on special teams. Elam apparently tore an ankle ligament before the regular season began, according to Ryan O’Halloran of The Buffalo News. Despite missing the team’s first four games, Elam returned in Week 5 and seemed to be trying to play through the injury in light of Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford’s injuries sustained in the team’s Week 4 victory over the Dolphins. The injury would eventually push him onto injured reserve at the start of November. He’s since been designated to return from IR. If he isn’t able to return by shortly after Christmas, Elam will remain on IR for the rest of the year.
