Former Patriots Cornerback Out For Season Due To ‘Freak Injury’

Former New England Patriots cornerback Keion Crossen figured to be a much-needed depth piece in the Miami Dolphins' secondary this season.

But the sixth-year pro's season came to a crashing halt Tuesday.

Miami put Crossen, who won a Super Bowl title with the Patriots in 2018, on season-ending injured reserve after Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters Wednesday that the corner suffered a "freak injury."

Grier didn't elaborate any further on the nature of Crossen's injury.

While Crossen, who the Patriots selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft and only played one season with New England, surely isn't a critical part of Miami's defense, it still is a blow. Crossen played 36% of the team's defensive snaps last year, which was his first season with Miami. The 27-year-old started two games and also made an impact on special teams.

The Dolphins are already banged up in the secondary with Jalen Ramsey expected to miss the majority of the season due to a knee injury. Grier didn't give a timeline for his his return, but does expect the three-time All-Pro to play this season. Corner Nik Needham will miss at least the first four games of the season as he's on the physically unable to perform list while continuing to recover from a torn Achilles he suffered last October.

That means the Dolphins' secondary will be light when it travels to New England for a Week 2 contest against the Patriots. The unit is headlined by Xavien Howard but has a vast amount of unproven players after that with Kader Kohou, rookie Cam Smith and Kelvin Joseph, who Miami just acquired from the Dallas Cowboys.

It certainly is a tough break for Crossen, who probably would have factored into that mix.