Raheem Mostert expected to miss Ravens game

With Raheem Mostert expected to miss the Ravens game due to an injury, expect Jeff Wilson and De'Von Achane to carry the tailback workload

The Miami Dolphins are expected to play Sunday's AFC showdown with the Baltimore Ravens without two of the team's top three offensive weapons.

Despite talking up Raheem Mostert's availability and toughness all week, it appears head coach Mike McDaniel will force the team's leading rusher, the tailback who is tied for the NFL lead in touchdowns (21), to sit out Sunday's 1 p.m. showdown against the Baltimore Ravens, which will decide what teams enter the final week of the regular season in possession of the AFC's No. 1 seed, and the bye week that comes with it.

According to a report from the NFL Network, the 31-year-old tailback who has rushed for 1,012 yards on 209 carries this season, will be inactive because of the knee and ankle injury he suffered in last week's 22-20 win against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dolphins down two major weapons

That means the Dolphins will play the Ravens without the team's leading rusher and receiver Jaylen Waddle, the team's second-leading receiver, who is sidelined by a high ankle sprain he suffered last week.

Waddle didn't practice all week, and was ruled out on Friday's injury report.

Mostert only participated in Friday's practice, and his involvement was limited. It was the second straight week the nine-year veteran, who has led the Dolphins in rushing for the past two seasons, was limited to one practice.

Mostert was listed as questionable for the Ravens game, but it seems as if Miami's trainers have determined the best approach to get him ready for the postseason would be to have him sit out his first game of the 2023 season.

Who handles the rushing workload?

Expect rookie tailback De'Von Achane, Jeff Wilson Jr., a six-year veteran, and rookie Chris Brooks to carry Miami's rushing attack until Mostert is cleared to return.

The Dolphins didn't call up tailback Darrynton Evans from the practice squad Saturday, so he's unavailable for this game.

Achane has previously started two games for the Dolphins, but that's been package-based work.

Even though he's sparingly contributed this season for various reasons, the Dolphins likely will lean on Wilson the most against the Ravens because of his experience, toughness, and familiarity with the offense.

"I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder and it hasn’t left. I feel like the more I get in the league, the bigger it gets," said Wilson, who has gained 122 yards on 29 carries this season, which has him on pace for his second-least productive season.

"[The chip on his shoulder] is just to a point where I’m ready to just knock it over, and just let the world know that I can play and don’t ever play with me on my name again," Wilson said last week when talking about his performance against the Cowboys, where he finished out the game by gaining 14 of his 21 rushing yards on Miami's game-winning fourth-quarter drive. "That’s just kind of where it’s at. I’ve been around the league a long time, so I don’t like to play games, so it’s business and that’s really what it is.”

What's Achane's status?

Achane spent the first month of the NFL season as a rookie sensation, leading the NFL in rushing yards per attempt, but a knee injury that forced him to sit out a month's worth of games cooled off the former Texas A&M standout.

And Achane, who has gained 637 yards and scored seven touchdowns on the 79 carries he's had in nine games this season, has been nursing a turf toe injury for the past three weeks.

When asked about Achane on Friday, McDaniel insinuated that the one day of rest and the limited workload he had was enough to get him ready for the Ravens.

"It’s been a good week for him,” McDaniel said of Achane, who is also a focal point of the Dolphins passing game having caught 22 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

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