Dolphins Lose Another Starter With Training Camp Injury

The Miami Dolphins already saw one veteran in the defensive secondary say goodbye to the 2025 season before it began when Artie Burns tore his ACL on the first day of practice. Now, just a few days into week two, the team fears for the worst after a non contact injury ended starting safety Ashtyn Davis’ day early.

“The Dolphins’ thin secondary potentially took another hit Tuesday, when safety Ashtyn Davis went down with a left leg injury during team drills,” wrote ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “Davis punched the ground in frustration before limping off the field to receive medical attention. He eventually hobbled his way back into the locker room only to emerge later on crutches with his left foot in a walking boot.”

The good news for Phins fans, the walking boot means this is not a knee injury. The bad news for Phins fans, no diagnosis has been made public at this point. They will likely have to wait until tomorrow afternoon for head coach Mike McDaniels’ scheduled media availability to get the full truth on the ball-hawking safety’s health.

“This is the second injury to a projected starter in the team’s past three practices,” Louis-Jacques continued. “Miami’s safeties room was already banged-up entering Tuesday’s practice, with rookie Dante Trader injured and free agent signee Ifeatu Melifonwu on the NFI list.”

Miami Dolphins’ Safety Depth After Ashtyn Davis Injury

The words “Miami Dolphins” and “depth” are not often used in the same sentence. As is the case for the team’s safety room which, after the injury to Ashtyn Davis, is glaringly thin.

Ifeatu Melifonwu is a talented young safety who has struggled to stay healthy since he entered the league in 2021. Since being drafted, he has only been healthy for one complete season. Last year he started the season on the injured reserve before returning in December and only seeing action in the team’s final four games.

As mentioned above, he is currently on the non-football injury list and has not appeared in a practice yet. McDaniels has teased that both Dante Trader and Melifonwu could be back very soon but, for the time being, the team is currently down three of their top four safeties. Not great.

This leaves the remaining room with a who’s-who of no-name defenders.

“All reports indicate Fitzpatrick is having a good camp, but the rest of Miami’s safety depth includes several unproven players like Jordan Colbert, John Saunders Jr., and Patrick McMorris,” writes SI’s Dante Collinelli.

Davis’ Role If Healthy

If healthy, Ashtyn Davis was going to be this team’s strong safety. In his five year’s with the New York Jets, Davis made 175 total tackles. But his impressive eight interceptions, four forced fumbles, and four fumbles recovered proves he is an instinctual defender.

Minkah Fitzpatrick is one of, if not the, league’s top free safety. He plays center field like no other. This gives the defense more of an opportunity to keep Davis or Melifonwu in the box to get better numbers against the run.