“Next man up” is one of the oldest cliches in professional sports, a line that is often repeated over and over like a song’ s chorus by every team. When personnel losses happen be…
“Next man up” is one of the oldest cliches in professional sports, a line that is often repeated over and over like a song’s chorus by every team. When personnel losses happen because of injuries, suspensions, or COVID-19 positive test results, which is the case for many NFL teams like the Miami Dolphins this past week, the next man in line is required to step up and fill in capably. Football, a sport whose collisions are often equivalent of a car crash, has the biggest rosters in sports. Therefore, the league must survive on players rising up the depth chart and holding down the line, or the linebacker unit, or the secondary, or the receiver room. This past week because of a recent outbreak of COVID-19, which has produced more than 100 positive tests and motivated the NFL to push back one game to Monday and two others to Tuesday, dozens of players will be put in “next-man-up” situations and asked to transform from a backup into a key contributor. “It’s the same old, same old. It’s the guys who are next up, they need to understand that their number might be called and they need to be ready to help this team win,” said center Michael Deiter. “It’s the same with coaches. It could be the next man up with the coaches too. Everyone involved needs to be ready to be the next guy up, whether you’re [practice] squad, third [team] on the depth chart. It doesn’t matter because obviously it’s real. COVID is real.” The Dolphins (6-7) will be without their sensational rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle, who was among the six Miami players who tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 10 days.
