Raheem Mostert is looking back on the 2023 Miami Dolphins season with pride but also with regret that the team was dealing with a lot of injuries that may have kept it from becoming Super Bowl champions.
Mostert also expressed some personal pride in earning a Pro Bowl selection for the first time in his nine-season NFL career.
NEW EPISODE DROPS TODAY!
In this special episode of Relentlessly Motivated, Raheem Mostert reflects back on the highs and lows of the #Dolphins 2023 season.
From falling short in the playoffs to navigating injuries, making the Pro Bowl, and more…
Here's a first look#FinsUp pic.twitter.com/cdXgE4LqLo
— Relentlessly Motivated with Raheem Mostert (@TheRaheemPod) January 23, 2024
“I just wanna talk about one thing, and that is to talk about the 2023 Miami Dolphins,” Mostert said. “Unfortunately, we were dealing with a lot of injuries, a lot of major injuries as I should say, had a lot of ups and also a lot of downs.
“You do wanna win at the end of the day. That’s the main objective. But we all strive to do, strive to be, strive to have to hoist that Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year.
“I am goin’ to my first ever Pro Bowl. I’ve been workin’ really hard to try to get that distinction. Everybody in the organization was all on the same page, and we were all doin’ the right things to try to crank out these wins.”
The 31-year-old established career-highs with 1,012 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns this season.
He did all of that playing in just 15 of the 17 regular season games as he was one of the many Dolphins players dealing with injuries toward the end of the campaign.
Miami got off to a 5-1 start and held an 11-4 record heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The Dolphins looked to be in line to capture the AFC East title and maybe even earn the No. 1 seed in the conference for the playoffs.
But with Mostert inactive because of knee and ankle injuries, the Dolphins lost to the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. Those setbacks cost them the division crown and chance to host a playoff game in the first round.
That forced them on the road to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. In one of the coldest games ever in NFL history, the Dolphins had their season end with a 26-7 defeat. Mostert returned to play in the game but managed only 33 rushing yards.
The Dolphins were also dealing with numerous significant injuries on defense and played without Xavien Howard, Jerome Baker, Andrew Van Ginkel, Bradley Chubb and Cameron Goode.
Despite the disappointment of falling short while not at full strength, the Dolphins can look back at some accomplishments from this season. They made the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since doing so in five straight seasons ending with the 2001 campaign.
Though some fans reportedly may be unhappy with the direction of the team, the Dolphins look poised to again try to win the AFC East for the first time since the 2008 season and get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1984 campaign.
