In 2016, the Miami Dolphins surprised the NFL with a double-digit win season and running back Jay Ajayi shocked everyone with his breakout campaign. While Ajayi felt that he proved himself after an early season benching, and was one of the only running backs in NFL history with back-to-back 200-yard rushing games, things don’t look good for the young runner heading into the 2017 Nfl Season. Ajayi suffered a concussion in the Dolphins’ training camp and had to enter the NFL concussion protocol.
Jay Ajayi concussion issues
Jay Ajayi suffered a concussion in practice and the Miami Dolphins have had to sit their star running back until he can pass the NFL concussion protocol.
While there are worse injuries, such as torn ACLs, that can end a season for a player completely, concussions can be just as bad when they take a while to heal. It also doesn’t help that the NFL had a major concussion lawsuit with former players, something that forced the NFL to make changes for the better when it comes to player’s health and well-being.
Another concern is that Jay Ajayi has had one of those horrible ACL tears. So, with the previous ACL tear and now a concussion at the start of training camp, it is concerning to look at the future of Ajayi. The Miami Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said that he would consider giving Jay 300 carries this season. That could mean a huge year but it also means more chances for Ajayi to fall to injury.
Dolphins without Jay Ajayi
With Jay Ajayi forced to sit until he passes his NFL concussion protocol, the Miami Dolphins need to figure out what they will do without him, which could be important to learn now rather than wait until Jay falls to another injury after the season starts. First, the Dolphins will see how good their running back backups really are.
At the moment, those players include fourth year running back from Oklahoma Damien Williams and second year runner from Alabama Kenyan Drake.
Last year, those two players combined for 294 yards and they will compete to see who gets ranked as the immediate backup to Jay Ajayi once he returns from his concussion issues.
The Miami Dolphins will also work on their passing game while Ajayi is out, with Ryan Tannehill will try to build off last year’s impressive connection he built with Jarvis Landry.
Those two players connected on 94 completions for 1,136 yards and four touchdowns. Gase already said that he wants to let Tannehill let the ball fly more in 2017, so this is a chance to really show what Miami can do in 2017.
