More Details on Sieler Injury

The Miami Dolphins will miss one of their best defensive players when they face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler (92) celebrates following a sack against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at Lumen Field. / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

As suspected, it was not a simple poke in the eye that will sideline Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler for at least one game and possibly more.

Sieler fractured his orbital bone during the Thursday practice, according to NFL Network reporters Cameron Wolfe and Ian Rapoport. He will undergo further tests to determine the extent of the damage and whether surgery will be necessary.

That, in turn, will determine exactly how long Sieler will be out of the Dolphins lineup.

Dolphins DT Zach Sieler suffered a fractured orbital bone in practice, sources tell me & @RapSheet.

Sieler is out Sunday vs. Cardinals and being evaluated to judge how long he’s out + if surgery is required. All orbital bone fractures have different timelines. pic.twitter.com/CZPOqCaHyP

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 25, 2024

Sieler will have to miss the Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium, at the very least.

"It was a first in my football history," McDaniel said. "He will not play this game, but timeline is unknown and that's kind of where it stands."

McDaniel said that Sieler would be week to week.

The craziest part of the story is that Sieler has never missed a game since joining the Dolphins as a waiver claim from the Baltimore Ravens in December 2019.

Maybe it's an encouraging sign that Sieler's wife, Hannah, was joking about her husband's injury on social media Friday.

Miami’s new defensive drill pic.twitter.com/FjDP66mzNR

— Hannah Sieler (@hangurll) October 25, 2024

REPLACING SIELER NO EASY TASK

If we were to rank the players the Dolphins could least afford to lose on defense, Sieler undoubtedly would be near the top, if not the top.

His absence could potentially be even more damaging against the Cardinals, whose offense relies heavily on the running of James Conner. Conner is coming off a game in which he gained 152 combined yards on offense against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Sieler shares the team leads this season in sacks (2), quarterback hits (5), and even interceptions (one). Furthermore, he's a workhorse on the defensive line, playing 79 percent of the defensive snaps.

Quite simply, there is just no way to replace him.

With Sieler out, the Dolphins will likely have to elevate practice squad defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr., who has been with the team for exactly one month.

The Dolphins may also have to ask Calais Campbell to play more snaps, which is not ideal given that while Campbell has played great football so far this season, he's also 38 years old and has played at least 60 percent of the defensive snaps only twice in six games.

In addition to everything else, the Sieler injury occurred days after the Dolphins lost veteran Jonathan Harris from the practice squad when the Carolina Panthers poached him.

Harris would have made for a more reassuring replacement, with all due respect to Farrell.