Breaking: Miami Dolphins lose William Hayes for season with ACL
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins walked out of Sunday with a victory over the Raiders but it was the injury pile up that could hurt. They lost William Hayes for the season.
To say that the Miami Dolphins played gritty football on defense would be an understatement. William Hayes’ last play in 2018 was a sack on Derek Carr and turned some of the momentum back to the Dolphins.
On Monday, Adam Gase confirmed the news that everyone did not want to hear. William Hayes, a major cog in the defensive front is out for the season with a torn ACL. The loss is huge as Hayes is both a locker room leader and a leader on the field. He is also the Dolphins best run defender.
Sunday the Dolphins took a beating on the defensive line. In addition to Hayes, Akeem Spence was ejected after ripping the helmet off a Raiders lineman. Andre Branch limped off the field and was shown later on the sideline with his knee wrapped with ice. Still the Dolphins, short on depth in 100 degree weather stepped up and took over the game.
William Hayes is OUT for the season with an ACL injury.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) September 24, 2018
The Dolphins, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald have reached out to free agent Cameron Malveaux who was with the Dolphins last season and all of training camp before being released. Unfortunately a reunion is not guaranteed as Malveaux reportedly is in Indianapolis talking with the Colts.
Miami needs to find someone to add to their defensive line and if Malveaux isn’t it, the team could turn to Kendall Langford who also spent time this training camp with the team.
Gase says there's no concern that any other of the injuries suffered yesterday were season-ending.
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 24, 2018
Hayes may have played his last NFL game on Sunday. Drafted in 2008 by the Titans, Miami obtained his services in 2017 via trade with the Rams for a drop from round six to round seven. 2018 would have been his 11th NFL season. While players more often than not come back from ACL injuries, it gets harder the older the player is.
It’s a huge loss for Miami and the Dolphins will need to find someone to step up. This is an opportunity for Charles Harris who should see an increase in playing time with Hayes now gone and questions about Andre Branch.