The 2026 Miami Dolphins
are a young, inexperienced team. That showed during Sunday's 27-13 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders
, in which the Dolphins were outplayed in all facets of the game including making mental mistakes such as untimely penalties.
Miami
's front office knew this was a possibility, but they embraced the rebuild with the hope that the team's young players can improve over time.
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While the Dolphins made back-to-back postseason appearances in 2022 and 2023, the team got older and its overall team performance declined which led Miami to go that route. However, some of the previous veterans have moved on and found success elsewhere. Unfortunately for one of those veterans, he won't be able to contribute in the 2026 season as he suffered a season-ending injury during Week 1.
Former Miami Dolphins Defensive Lineman Suffers Season-Ending Injury
Former Miami Dolphins interior defensive lineman, who appeared in 33 games including two starts during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, suffered a season-ending injury during his first game with the Atlanta Falcons
.
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NFL insider Ian Rapoport posted on X
: "#Falcons DL Da'Shawn Hand is believed to have suffered a torn quad that could require surgery and end his season, sources say. Hand is receiving multiple opinions and a final diagnosis will tell the full story."
Unfortunately, the early belief turned out to be true as Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski later confirmed that Hand would miss the entire season.
Hand signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Falcons this offseason. After a pair of seasons with the Dolphins, Hand was a member of the Los Angeles Chargers
in 2025.
Regarding Hand's time with the Dolphins, Dolphins on SI's Alain Poupart wrote:
"Hand's numbers weren't overly impressive last season, as he managed just 31 total tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and six run stuffs. However, he was a solid role player and could have given the Dolphins an easy way to fill snaps this coming season."
Miami Dolphins Defensive Line
After losing Hand, as well as Calais Campbell
that offseason, the Dolphins invested in the defensive line in the 2025 NFL
Draft. They selected Kenneth Grant
with their first-round pick before adding Jordan Phillips
and Zeek Biggers
with two late-round picks. Additionally, the Dolphins also have former first-round pick Chop Robinson
and veteran Zach Sieler
; however, they failed to make much of an impact during the team's season opener.
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Regarding their performance during Miami's Week 1 loss against the Raiders, The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson wrote:
"The eye test and the Raiders' domination of the line of scrimmage in the first half left the strong impression that it wasn't a particularly good day for the Dolphins' young defensive tackles. PFF largely disagreed, rating Zeek Biggers fifth and Jordan Phillips sixth overall among 20 Dolphins defenders, even though they couldn't quickly enough shake free from blockers on several running plays in their area."
Meanwhile, Kenneth Grant was not active for the Dolphins as he's currently on injured reserve after suffering an injury during training camp. Grant did not have a particularly strong rookie season, but the team is hoping for improvement in his sophomore season when he does return.
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