When the Miami Dolphins had their first practice of training camp on Wednesday, it was marred by bad news.
Early in the practice, cornerback Artie Burns suffered an injury that is now being described as a torn ACL. Later, offensive lineman Bayron Matos suffered an injury of his own and had to be airlifted to a local hospital as a result. He was said to be in stable condition while at the hospital.
On Thursday, the Dolphins had their second practice of training camp, and it seemingly went way smoother. More importantly, it sounds like Matos made some progress between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
“First, some encouraging news: Offensive lineman Bayros Matos, who was taken by helicopter to Ryder Trauma Center after he was injured late in Wednesday’s practice, showed improvement Thursday,” wrote Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
“His agent, Perlesta Hollingsworth, told The Miami Herald on Wednesday night that Matos has ‘some movement but not full movement in his right leg. It comes and goes.’
“The Dolphins announced Thursday that Matos — who remained overnight at Ryder Trauma Center for evaluation and testing — ‘has movement in all extremities and is in stable condition. He will remain in the care of doctors for continued observation.’
“Matos was injured during an inadvertent collision with a teammate. ‘He ran into a defensive lineman when his head was lowered and took the brunt of the impact,’ Hollingsworth said.”
Matos has spent time with the Dolphins after he went undrafted in 2024. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game at the NFL level but is surely hoping to check that box at some point in the future. With any luck, his scary injury won’t get in the way of that goal.
Matos’ agent described the 24-year-old’s ailment as an “above the shoulder type injury” to the Miami Herald on Wednesday night.
While there’s no need to speculate about the details of Matos’ injury beyond that, the Dolphins know how serious injuries above the shoulders can be, especially since starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has dealt with a number of them.
Tagovailoa has battled concussions in the NFL, and some of them have led to concerns about his long-term health and career in the NFL. However, he remains in the league today and is set to be Miami’s man at the quarterback position once again this coming season.
Matos moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was 17 and ended up playing high-level basketball and football in college. In 2024, he was selected as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
He has had quite a journey to get to this point, and hopefully, his medical situation this week will only end up being a bump in the road for him as he continues to pursue his dreams as an athlete.
