The Dolphins have lost veteran offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer for the season and backup quarterback Quinn Ewers for at least a week, it was learned Sunday.
Those were the major developments on a busy day in which the Dolphins placed Salyer on season-ending injured reserve, re-signed quarterback Mark Gronowski, signed second-year inside linebacker Cam Riley and released cornerback Ethan Robinson.
Salyer, who started 40 games in four seasons with the Chargers, signed with the Dolphins in March and was told that he would have a chance to compete for a starting job. But starting became unlikely when Miami drafted Kadyn Proctor and moved Jonah Savaiinaea to right guard, where he has thrived.
Nevertheless, Salyer was expected to be one of the team’s top backup linemen at both guard and tackle. He hasn’t practiced since July 31 because of the unspecified injury.
Among Dolphins’ offensive linemen, only Aaron Brewer and Austin Jackson have made more NFL starts.
His loss leaves Caedan Wallace and Charlie Heck as Miami’s most experienced backup tackles, and center Andrew Meyer and guard Josh Priebe as the team’s top backup interior linemen.
Also on Sunday, the Dolphins re-signed Gronowski after waiving him Aug. 7. One reason for that, according to a source: Ewers is expected to miss a week, or possibly more, after sustaining a groin injury on the second play of the Dolphins’ preseason loss at Washington.
Ewers played through the injury but completed just 1 of 8 passes (one was intercepted) and was victimized by multiple mistakes by the team’s receivers.
A former South Dakota State and Iowa starter, Gronowski joined the Dolphins as an undrafted rookie in May but struggled during training camp, throwing several interceptions.
He led South Dakota State to two FCS National Championship titles (2022, 2023), earned 2023 AP FCS first-team All-America honors and won the 2023 Walter Payton Award, presented to the most outstanding offensive player in the FCS.
The Dolphins now have four quarterbacks under contract, with starter Malik Willis and backup Ewers, Cam Miller and Gronowski. Miller struggled badly, throwing two interceptions, during Friday’s preseason loss.
Riley joined the Patriots last year as an undrafted college free agent out of Florida State, where he played one season after four at Auburn. He was cut by the Patriots after playing 57 defensive snaps in preseason last year, then spent part of last season on Tennessee’s practice squad but did not appear in a game.
He had 167 tackles and three sacks in five college seasons, which included 60 games and 12 starts.
As for Robinson, he joined the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota last May, then appeared in two games last season, logging no snaps on defense and nine on special teams. He played 16 snaps in the preseason opener and wasn’t targeted in coverage.
This story was originally published August 16, 2026 at 2:12 PM.
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.