The Miami Dolphins are set to enter Week 3 of the 2021 regular season and clash with the Las Vegas Raiders. Here’s the bad news, Dolphins fans — your team will be without nose tackle Raekwon Davis (Injured Reserve due to a knee injury) and starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (broken ribs) in Week 3. But the rest of the roster? They’re on the table and ready for action for Miami. Of course the sting of Tagovailoa’s absence will hurt — but this has been news Miami has been able to process for a few days now. And Davis missed Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, too; so no surprises here.
The other sideline, however, has a few major names on the injury report worth noting.
Offensive guard Richie Incognito is officially out versus the Dolphins after missing the entire week of practice this week; leaving the Raiders without both starting guards this week. The right guard, Denzelle Goode, went down earlier this season and is out for the year. That leaves the interior trio in Las Vegas as John Simpson, Andre James and Jermaine Eluemunor.
But that may not be the only loss between the tackles for the Raiders. Former 1st-round running back Josh Jacobs is considered doubtful for Week 3 versus Miami. Jacobs also missed the entire week of practice this week, setting the stage for former Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake to try to capture some revenge against his former team in Week 3. Drake played against the Dolphins last year as a member of the Arizona Cardinals but saw his team fall short of victory after a late Jason Sanders field goal pushed Miami into the lead.
With the losses in the run game, Miami has to feel optimistic about their chances to match personnel with the Raiders. Without Tagovailoa in the mix, the offensive attack may look different and undergo some growing pains — setting the stage for a low-scoring affair in Week 3 between two AFC playoff hopefuls.