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Trey Moore, who had emerged as a front-runner to start at linebacker for the Dolphins, will be out awhile after sustaining an ankle injury during Saturday\u2019s 26-3 preseason loss to the Giants.<\/p>\n
Moore landed awkwardly on his left leg while rushing Jameis Winston early in the game. Unable to put pressure on the leg, Moore initially walked off with assistance from team staffers and then was carted off the locker room.<\/p>\n
Coach Jeff Hafley said Sunday that Moore will miss \u201csome time. I don\u2019t see him back being soon. I\u2019m not sure how long it will be. We will determine that after all the testing gets done.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Moore sidelined, Willie Gay Jr. could emerge as a starter at linebacker. Gay had eight tackles Saturday.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins selected Moore in the fourth round, 130th overall, in April\u2019s draft. He had a combined 70 tackles and 8.5 sacks over two seasons at Texas, after playing three years at Texas San Antonio.<\/p>\n
In other injury news, Hafley said running back Ollie Gordon II is OK. He left the game after being hit in the ribs \u201cand was cleared to go back in the game.\u201d The Dolphins opted to keep him out of the game for precautionary reasons.<\/p>\n
Linebacker Ronnie Harrison has a hamstring injury and is unlikely to play in the preseason finale at home Friday against Atlanta, Hafley said.<\/p>\n
This and that<\/p>\n
\u25aa It\u2019s possible some Dolphins starters might play Friday against the Falcons, but Hafley also wants to give a lot of snaps and a \u201cfair chance\u201d to players on the bubble. Most Dolphins starters did not play against the Giants.<\/p>\n
He said this week of practice will be different than previous weeks. \u201cWe have to ramp this up and ready get ready for the season, [do] some more situational football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u25aa How did the rookies play Saturday? \u201cSome guys stood out, helped their cases. Clearly, we have some work to do. There were some mental mistakes. There were some physical mistakes… The outcome wasn\u2019t what we wanted. That\u2019s coaching. That\u2019s playing. It needs to be better in a lot of those cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Safety Dante Trader Jr. returned Saturday after missing some time with an injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked his physicality,\u201d Hafley said. \u201cI thought he did a really nice job. He tackled well. Thought his effort was outstanding. He saved us on a play early on where there was a bust in coverage… and he got [a Giants player] down. It would have been a huge play if he didn\u2019t. That puts him back right where he left off, in a great spot to be in the mix and compete for that starting position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa How aggressive will the Dolphins be with claiming players on waivers?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a conversation [general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan] and I constantly have,\u201d Hafley said. \u201cWe owe it to this team and the organization that if we feel there are players out there who can help this roster, we need to be aggressive. Sully and his entire staff are working really hard at that. That\u2019s something we are going to have to look at throughout the season as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa The Dolphins\u2019 starting offensive line included only one projected starter (left guard Kadyn Proctor), joining right tackle Caedan Wallace, right guard Josh Priebe, center Andrew Meyer and left tackle Charlie Heck.<\/p>\n
Rookie sixth-round pick DJ Campbell replaced Proctor after one series and played the rest of the game, initially at left guard and then at right guard.<\/p>\n
Heck had a holding penalty, Wallace permitted three quarterback pressures and Meyer allowed a sack. Campbell did not allow a sack or pressure on 18 pass blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Hafley was irked about a series of mistakes, including Bradley Pinion\u2019s shanked 15 yard punt, Ethan Bonner\u2019s holding penalty on a punt return, Tahj Washington\u2019s lost fumble on a punt return and Lonnie Johnson\u2019s holding penalty on a kickoff return.<\/p>\n
\u25aa PFF rated receiver Kevin Coleman Jr., Priebe, Wallace, Campbell and running back Carlos Washington Jr. as the Dolphins\u2019 best players on offense. PFF rated receiver Jalen Tolbert, Heck, receiver Tutu Atwell, running back Jaylen Wright and quarterback Mark Gronowski as the worst.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Defensively, PFF rated linebacker Jackson Woodard and cornerbacks Alex Austin, Marco Wilson and Ahmari Harvey as Miami\u2019s best players Saturday, and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, safety Johnson, linebacker Cam Riley, safety Zayne Anderson and defensive tackle Alex Huntley as the worst.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Hafley said even though quarterbacks Cam Miller and Gronowski were put in some tough situations, \u201cthere were times it wasn\u2019t good enough…. It needs to improve.\u201d He said Miami\u2019s 37 offensive snaps were \u201cthe lowest I\u2019ve seen in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hafley said he\u2019s \u201chopeful\u201d that No. 2 quarterback Quinn Ewers will be able to practice this week after missing last week with a groin injury.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Hafley said defensive tackle Keith Cooper Jr. \u201chas gotten better and better. He\u2019s a guy in my opinion who has made one of the biggest jumps from where he started to now. We played him on the inside [and] outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa With a temperature of 94 degrees at kickoff, Saturday\u2019s game tied for the warmest in Dolphins history.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published August 23, 2026 at 12:15 PM.<\/p>\n