A Miami Dolphins huddle on Oct. 23, 2022. Oct 23, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Terron Armstead (72) and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) talk to teammates prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots matchup Sunday is important for the NFL playoff picture, with the 8-7 Dolphins currently in the last AFC playoff spot and the 7-8 Patriots currently the first team out. But the Dolphins will be entering it without a lot of key players. Here’s the list of inactive players they tweeted Sunday:

Of those inactive players, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had already been ruled out (due to another concussion) on Friday. And at that point, offensive tackle Eric Fisher was listed as doubtful, so it’s not surprising to see him also inactive. But tackle Terron Armstead (seen at left above during an Oct. 23 game), cornerback Xavien Howard, and linebacker Bradley Chubb, all important pieces for Miami, were all only listed as questionable Friday. So it’s a bit tough for the Dolphins for all of them to be unavailable.

Of course, as is often the case this late in the NFL season, the Patriots are facing their own injury challenges as well. Here’s their inactive list:

Cornerback Marcus Jones, tight end Jonnu Smith, and wide receiver DeVante Parker were already ruled out (all with concussions) in the Patriots’ final injury report, but there was optimism at that time about cornerback Jalen Mills. He’s been battling a groin injury and hasn’t played since Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings. But he was a limited participant in practice Friday and was upgraded to questionable on that final injury report. So it’s unfortunate for New England that he wasn’t able to make it all the way back for this one. We’ll see who prevails in the battle of the injury-limited Patriots and Dolphins.

[Dolphins Wire; photo from Rich Storry/USA Today Sports]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.