Dolphins Place Malik Willis on IR With Core Muscle Injury; Kyle McCord to Make NFL Debut
Miami's starting quarterback will miss at least four games, handing the job to McCord for Sunday's trip to Indianapolis
The Dolphins are placing quarterback Malik Willis on injured reserve, The Ringer's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday. Willis has been playing through a groin injury that limited his mobility, and an MRI showed it has developed into a core muscle injury that requires rest. It isn't season-ending, but he'll miss at least four weeks.
The Dolphins are placing QB Malik Willis on injured reserve, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Willis has been battling a groin injury that impacted his mobility. An MRI showed it has now developed into a core muscle injury, which requires rest. Not season-ending, but he’ll miss at least four weeks.View on X →
Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero): The Dolphins are placing QB Malik Willis on injured reserve, sources tell @ringer @netflixsports. Willis has been battling a groin injury that impacted his mobility. An MRI showed it has now developed into a core muscle injury, which requires rest. Not season-ending, but he’ll miss at least four weeks.
That hands the job to Kyle McCord, who is now set to make his NFL debut Sunday when Miami visits the Colts at 1 p.m. ET. The Dolphins acquired McCord from the Packers for a 2028 sixth-round pick in late August after his four-touchdown preseason finale. A 2024 sixth-round pick, he has yet to take a regular-season snap. Brady Cook, who is on the practice squad, is the only other quarterback in the building.
The injury had been showing. Willis ran twice for 7 yards in Sunday's 19-9 loss to the Lions and completed 13 of 25 passes for 128 yards with an interception. Afterward he admitted the groin "was a little tight," and coach Jeff Hafley said "you could see he couldn't really open up," according to the Miami Herald. Willis had just 9 rushing yards over his last two games, a big drop for a quarterback whose legs are a key part of the offense.
In his first season in Miami, Willis started all eight games, completing 58.2% of his passes for 1,396 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 232 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.
The Dolphins are 1-7, last in the AFC East and in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick. Now they'll turn to an untested quarterback for at least the next month.