Miami Dolphins star center Mike Pouncey was part of the bullying saga last season, but he was also an indispensable part of the Dolphins team due to the incompetence surrounding him on the offensive line. Pouncey tried his best to hold the line together, though it wasn’t enough to stop Ryan Tannehill from getting battered and the talented Lamar Miller from getting stuffed repeatedly despite his best efforts. There’s no doubt that Pouncey is one of the league’s best centers, as he is a nasty run blocker who is also very steady in pass protection.
The Dolphins made large-scale upgrades on the line this year by signing marquee tackle Branden Albert, drafting Ja’Wuan James in the first round, signing solid guard Shelley Smith, and drafting potential rookie starter Billy Turner to man the other guard position. Unfortunately, it looks like Pouncey won’t be able to star with those guys at the beginning of the season, as he tore a labrum in his hip and needed surgery. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Pouncey would be out for at least three months, and it looks like he will be out for the longer part of the scale.
Per a source close to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Pouncey’s tear is “significant”, and he writes that the initial timeline is “very optimistic” and that three months is “the absolute minimum”. That’s the bad news, but the good news is that Pouncey is ridiculously tough, and Florio notes that he played through 2013 with kidney stones (crazy, right?).