Any hope the Miami Dolphins had for a big rushing attack against the Kansas City Chiefs may have faded on Saturday. Touchdown underdogs to the defending Super Bowl champions ahead of Sunday's Week 14 matchup, the Dolphins announced less than 24 hours before kickoff that they've placed starting running back Myles Gaskin on the COVID-19 reserve list. That means Gaskin, who just returned in Week 13 from a month-long absence due to injury, will be sidelined for the Chiefs game.
Not only that, but since fellow running backs Matt Breida (COVID reserve) and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) had already been ruled out for Sunday's matchup, Miami will be down to three healthy players in its backfield: Reserves DeAndre Washington, Patrick Laird and practice-squad promotion Elijah McGuire. Neither Laird nor McGuire have taken more than three carries in a single game for the Dolphins, and Washington has appeared in just two contests for the Dolphins, averaging 3.4 yards per carry on 15 touches.
Gaskin was expected to be a focal point of the Dolphins' offense against the Chiefs after returning with much success in Week 13, when he had 140 yards from scrimmage in a 19-7 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The former seventh-round draft pick established himself as Miami's top back in a busy October before suffering an MCL injury and missing four games.
In his absence, Washington figures to get a full workload as Miami's RB1. The veteran backup spent the first four seasons of his career with the Oakland Raiders before spending the first month of the 2020 season on the Chiefs' practice squad.
