Malik Willis Hits IR as the Dolphins' 1-7 Season Goes From Bad to Unwatchable

The Miami Dolphins' 1-7 season just found a new way to hit rock bottom. Malik Willis is heading to injured reserve with a core muscle injury, officially putting a pause on whatever you want to call the Miami offense right now.

Tom Pelissero reported that Willis has been battling a groin issue that finally graduated into a full-blown core muscle injury requiring rest. He is out for at least four weeks, which in Miami years feels like a decade.

""Just how the game played out. Not sure that had anything to do with it," Willis said regarding his groin injury impacting his scrambling against the Patriots."

Willis really tried to tough it out. Just last week, he brushed off questions about his mobility against the New England Patriots, telling reporters he wasn't sure the injury had anything to do with his lack of scrambling. Then he went out against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, threw for a bleak 128 yards and a pick in a 19-9 loss, and let the MRI machine do the talking.

Playing through a groin injury to save a 1-7 season is like trying to bail out the Titanic with a shot glass. Willis has actually been one of the few guys trying to make things happen on the ground, racking up 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns this year. But when your quarterback's mobility is compromised, the entire playbook shrinks to the size of a sticky note.

For anyone still brave enough to look at Miami's team totals or spread lines, this IR stint completely scrambles the math. The Dolphins are already evaluating trade deadline moves, and losing their starting quarterback for a month means the market is going to treat them like a bye week for opposing defenses.

Willis gets a mandatory four-week vacation to heal up, while the Dolphins have to figure out who is taking snaps next. The trade deadline is looming, the roster is a mess, and Miami fans are officially pivoting to draft season before Thanksgiving.