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The Miami Dolphins went into training camp with linebacker as one of the teams deepest positions. Now, just a few days into padded practices, the depth in the middle of the defense is looking thinner.
As The Phinsider contributor Jake Mendel and I wrote about yesterday, budding linebacker Vince Biegel tore his left Achilles tendon in practice and will be unable to play for the Dolphins this season. Now, Miami has lost another linebacker, though hopefully not for nearly as long.
Per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, 27-year old Sam Eguavoen has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Eguavoen can be removed from the list at any time after testing consecutively negative for COVID-19 at least two times. Given that NFL teams are not allowed to publish the exact health status of their players as it relates to COVID-19, it’s unclear whether Eguavoen actually contracted the virus or was deemed high-risk due to contract tracing.
Eguavoen joined the Dolphins just prior to last season after three successful years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL. In his one year in Miami, Eguavoen played in all 16 games and started six. He accumulated 42 total tackles (seven for loss), 3.5 sacks, nine QB hits, one fumble recovery, and one pass defense.
Though his play was uneven at times last season, Eguavoen certainly showed enough potential to be counted on in the team’s linebacker rotation and could potentially fight for significant playing time. The former Texas Tech Red Raider is going into the second year of his two-year, $1.08 million contract and will be an exclusive rights free agent next offseason.
In his one season with the Dolphins, Biegel, 27, played in 15 games and started 10. He recorded 59 total tackles (seven for loss), 2.5 sacks, one interception, and 13 QB hits.
Biegel will now have a full year to recover and hopefully re-join a team for the 2021 season to pick up where he left off at the end of 2019. He signed a one-year, $2.13 million tender with the Dolphins back in April and will be an unrestricted free agent for the 2021 offseason.