Dolphins activate LG Liam Eichenberg from injured reserve, place RB Myles Gaskin on IR

The Dolphins activated left guard Liam Eichenberg from injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday. And in a corresponding move, Miami placed running back Myles Gaskin on IR, sidelining him for a minimum of four games.

Eichenberg has missed the last seven games with a knee injury he sustained in the Dolphins’ Week 8 road win over the Detroit Lions on Oct. 30. He was designated to return to practice on Dec. 7 and had reached the conclusion of his 21-day window. If the Dolphins did not activate Eichenberg, he would have had to spend the remainder of the season on IR.

Whether Eichenberg, who was drafted No. 42 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, returns to his starting spot remains to be seen. While coaches praised the level of Eichenberg’s play before he was injured, they have also been complimentary of Robert Jones, who has started in place of Eichenberg.

“Robert Jones as far as he is concerned, he’s done a great job,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. “And because of that, there’s a lot of things that go into activation of IR and one of those is roster spots and we have a good amount of good players on the team, so it didn’t make sense for us to go ahead and move on that early.”

Gaskin, who was a late addition to last week’s injury report with an illness and did not play in the loss to the Green Bay Packers, will miss the Dolphins’ final two regular-season games — and at least two playoff games, should the Dolphins advance to the postseason. Miami is 8-7 and in possession of the third and final wild-card spot in the AFC. The Dolphins can clinch a playoff berth on Sunday with a road win over the New England Patriots and a New York Jets loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Gaskin, who led the Dolphins in rushing in 2021 and 2020, has only appeared in four games this season. He has rushed 10 times for 26 yards and caught four passes for 28 yards.