On Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Miami Dolphins featured a new quarterback in Week 1 for the first time since the 2020 season.
With Malik Willis, the Dolphins hope to have found their new franchise quarterback. Willis, who impressed during his time in Green Bay, has a dual-threat ability that the Dolphins have not had in the past. In fact, Willis’ 14-yard touchdown run was the longest touchdown run by a Dolphins quarterback since 2001.
However, despite some impressive moments that showed why Miami invested in him, Willis had an overall up-and-down performance that lacked consistency. Now, he’s received some bad injury news as he appears to be dealing with an injury heading into Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Miami Dolphins Quarterback Listed on the Injury Report
The Miami Dolphins announced their injury report, in which quarterback Malik Willis appeared with a toe injury. Willis did not appear in the injury report prior to Week 1, which means he suffered this injury in Sunday’s game against the Raiders. The good news is that he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, which should mean he will be available for Sunday.
On Sunday, Willis led the Dolphins with 39 rushing yards on six carries. The Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad argued that Willis’ running ability should be an even bigger part of the game plan, as he wrote: “Willis is a dynamic, explosive athlete. But he always seems a bit hesitant to expand on his running talents. Perhaps it’s because he wants to be perceived as a complete quarterback.”
With Willis nursing a toe injury, it’s fair to wonder whether that will have an impact on his ability to run the ball against San Francisco.
Dolphins Run Game
Among the many frustrations out of Sunday’s loss was the team’s inability to run the football. While Willis leading the team in rushing yards is an impressive feat for the quarterback, that should not be the case on a team that features Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane.
Achane, who finished with 36 rushing yards on 11 carries, only had two games last season with less than 50 rushing yards.
Perhaps with Willis being injured, the team decides to rely more on its best offensive player.
The Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly argued that the run game should not be abandoned, as he wrote: “No matter how we slice it, 11 carries for De’Von Achane is too few. Miami’s offense would benefit from having a play-action style that keeps defenses off balanced. Even the most efficient offense would struggle if they telegraphed what’s coming from a run-pass standpoint. The Dolphins did that against the Raiders, and also tipped their hand on the direction of the runs by avoiding elite pass rusher Maxx Crosby, running to whatever side he wasn’t on.”
Next up for the Dolphins is a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, whose defense allowed only seven points, but did allow over 100 yards to the opposing ballcarriers. In particular, Rams running back Blake Corum had success against them as he averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 10 attempts.
Dolphins QB Malik Willis Suffers Injury Before 49ers Game