Miami Dolphins rookie Jaylen Waddle suffers injury scare
Miami Dolphins rookie Jaylen Waddle had an injury scare late in the first quarter of their preseason game with the Atlanta Falcons. The first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, Waddle was injured trying to block for a teammate when a defender crashed into his left leg.
He left the field limping and in pain but would return shortly afterwards with no visible injury or slowness.
Jaylen Waddle injury scare
Late in the first quarter of their preseason game with Atlanta, Dolphins’ first-round draft pick Jaylen Waddle suffered what appeared to be a serious injury.
While setting a block on the outside defensive back, running back Myles Gaskin ran on the edge of the defense beside Waddle. As a Falcons defender attempted to make the tackle, he collided into Waddle’s left leg and flipped the receiver over him.
The game feed caught Waddle running along the sideline after the play, heavily limping and in pain. He fell to the ground before getting off the field and began clutching his left leg in pain as trainers inspected him.
Fans received some reassurance shortly after he managed to get off the field, as Waddle walked under his own power to the locker room to have his leg looked at. After returning to the sideline, Waddle could be seen testing his leg out and making football moves. He would re-enter the game, with no visible injuries.
Relief for Dolphins fans
With how scary the injury appeared for anyone watching Waddle grimacing in pain, seeing him return to the game was a relief for Miami.
“Holy crap. Jaylen Waddle is running and cutting and jumping around like nobody’s business after it looked really scary like 5 minutes ago,” the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad reported.
An injury so early in his career would be even more frustrating after his final college season. Waddle had recently come back from an ankle injury during his last season with Alabama. While not fully healthy, he had returned for Alabama’s national championship victory over Ohio State before leaving for the NFL.
The Dolphins selected Waddle with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Waddle was reunited with his old Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, as he had been drafted by the Dolphins the year before.
Pete Nakos contributed to this article.