New revelation casts fresh doubt on Elandon Roberts’ Week 1 availability for Dolphins

Elandon Roberts is less than five months removed from what Dolphins coach Brian Flores at the time described as a “significant” right knee injury — one that ultimately needed surgery, Roberts revealed Monday.

And yet the Dolphins brought the free agent linebacker back on a one-year, $2 million contract this offseason — even though there’s no guarantee Roberts will be back in time for the opener.

“I think me and the Dolphins, we knew that we definitely wanted to be part of family and we made it happen,” Roberts said.

“This is my first time really being hurt,” he continued. “It tests your mental because I never really had an injury, but at the end of the day, just me, how I grew up, I’ve been going through adversity my whole life. It’s just another bump in the road. It’s really not a bump to me.”

Roberts — one of roughly 70 Dolphins players who participated in the first day of in-person voluntary workouts Monday — is presumably a candidate to begin at least training camp, and perhaps the regular season, on the physically unable to perform list. If the surgery was to repair a torn ligament, the recovery time could be more than nine months.

But even if he’s a midseason addition to the roster, Roberts (assuming he’s healthy) will help Miami’s front seven. He started 11 games in 2021, and eight of his 61 tackles were for loss. He was one of the team’s few true inside linebackers. And that really hasn’t changed a year later.

“Right now I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Roberts said of his recovery timeline. “When it’s time for me to wake you up, I’m going to wake you up now. But right now I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Roberts, 27, is suddenly an elder statesmen on the still-young team, and knows it’s on him to provide leadership — particularly considering the roster upheaval from 2020. He’s the only returning defensive captain from last year.

“You get [with] all the guys as everybody gets in there, you just build that camaraderie,” Roberts said. “This year will be so much different than last year because guys will be able to do that and stuff like that. Last year, you kind of had to build it through the year so quickly with training camp and stuff like that. It’s nothing anyone else wouldn’t have to go through in a regular NFL season.

“This league changes every day,” he added. “It’s about adapting. It’s like week to week. We play against a different offense. We might be going against a true pro style and the next week we’re going up against a West Coast. You’re going to adapt. We’re just going to adapt to everyone new in our facility and from a team perspective we’re just going to come together as a team, learn each other and put all the marbles and ducks in a row.”