An injury update and Dolphins notes. And Dolphins reportedly could play game in Brazil

The Dolphins will not place linebacker Jerome Baker on injured reserve, but he’s expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee injury.

Baker has an MCL injury but no surgery is needed and an MRI did not reveal any significant damage to his ACL or MCL.

Baker sustained the injury in a collision with teammate Brandon Jones in the first half of Sunday’s game against Washington.

Meanwhile, the status of offensive linemen Terron Armstead and Robert Hunt is again in question because of injuries.

Hunt returned Sunday after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury but re-aggravated the hamstring in the second half when a Commanders blitz forced him to make an abnormal movement.

“We had been extremely, proactively conservative with him so we didn’t expect a setback,” coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday. “We will go back to our conservative nature with him.”

McDaniel called Hunt’s status “week to week.”

McDaniel said Armstead - who sustained an ankle injury against Washington - could have gone back in the game against the Commanders.

So there’s hope that Armstead will play Monday against visiting Tennessee (8:15 p.m., ESPN), but how the injury responds will clarify that.

Armstead has missed six games this season because of assorted injuries.

“It frustrates him more than anybody,” McDaniel said. “He took measures [for injury prevention] and it hasn’t worked out.”

As for safety Jevon Holland, who missed Sunday’s game with knee injuries, McDaniel said the Dolphins will continue to be “conservative in nature” in determining when he returns.

▪ More than 10 NFL starting quarterbacks have been injured this season.

Asked about that, McDaniel said: “For me, it feels like the healthiest year for quarterbacks ever” because Tua Tagovailoa has stayed healthy. “For the Miami Dolphins, this has been the year of quarterback health.”

▪ McDaniel said linebacker Duke Riley, who replaced the injured Baker, “did a tremendous job” against Washington and has “really pushed Bake immensely to be where he’s at.”

DOLPHINS IN BRAZIL?

ESPN Deportes said that the league wants to play a game in Brazil in Week 1 next season and that the Dolphins are expected to be one of the participants.

The Dolphins played a game against the Chiefs in Germany this season, but it was counted as a Dolphins road game.

Like all AFC teams, Miami has eight home games and nine road games in 2024.

An NFL spokesman said “the commissioner stated last month that the league will play in a new market during the 2024 regular season with Spain and Brazil as the leading countries. No decisions have been made.”

THIS AND THAT

Fullback Alec Ingold is the Dolphins’ nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, which is given annually to the player who “excels on the field and demonstrates a passion for creating a lasting positive impact beyond the game.”

All 32 nominees (one from each team) will be recognized in the week leading up to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The winner will be announced in a CBS prime time special on Feb. 8.

▪ While there’s optimism that Jaelan Phillips will be fine for the 2024 season opener, there are no guarantees with Achilles injuries.

Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham needed 54 weeks after tearing his Achilles before he felt entirely back to normal and was activated.

Phillips had the typical Achilles surgery, not the unique one that Aaron Rodgers underwent in September.

▪ Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman said Justin Bethel and Riley have been the most consistent Dolphins on his coverage units this season.

But Riley might need to curtail his special teams snaps while he fills in on defense for Baker.

▪ The Dolphins defense has allowed six offensive touchdowns in five home games, and Miami has won 17 of its last 19 games at home.

If the Dolphins remain the AFC’s No. 1 seed for the rest of the season, then six of a possible seven games before the Super Bowl would be at Hard Rock Stadium.

▪ The Dolphins have assured themselves of a winning record for the fourth consecutive season, something they hadn’t done since 1997-2003, when they did it seven times in a row.

▪ McDaniel is the third head coach in Dolphins history to have winning seasons in each of his first two years with the team, joining Don Shula (1970-71) and Dave Wannstedt (2000-01).

▪ The Dolphins have won 23 of the past 32 games started by Tua Tagovailoa, dating back to Nov. 21, 2021. That is the third-best win percentage (.719) among NFL starting quarterbacks (with a minimum of 15 starts) in that span.

▪ If Tyreek Hill has another 100-yard receiving game against Tennessee, it would be his fourth in a row, equaling Irving Fryar’s franchise record set in 1994.

▪ With Washington limited to 245 yards on Sunday, the Dolphins have now held their opponent to under 300 yards in five consecutive games. With the Titans and Jets up next, Miami could stretch the streak to seven games, which the franchise last achieved in 2010.

▪ De’Von Achane’s nine touchdowns are the third most for a rookie in team history, behind Ron Davenport’s 13 in 1985 and Karim Abdul Jabbar’s 11 in 1996.