Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi was hit hard and evaluated for a possible concussion following Monday's practice.
The results of that evaluation are not known as of yet, but Miami figures to play it safe with the Pro Bowl RB. Ajayi is arguably Miami's most important offensive player and the team's success could rest on his shoulders and legs. Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake are the reserves behind Ajayi on Miami's depth chart.
Ajayi started the 2016 season with some drama, after losing out on the starting gig. It did not take look for Ajayi to win the role however and he went on to run for 1,272 yards. Ajayi had three games of 200 or more yards and ran the ball into the end zone eight times.
The hit on Ajayi came during Miami's first full contact practice of training camp. Ajayi was the receiver of multiple big hits on Monday, as the team looks to get into game shape for the exhibition season. Taking it easy could prevent injuries such as this, but it also hurts the team's ability to compete later on.
"You're not going to win either way," head coach Adam Gase said. "If you don't go live, you're going to dread that you don't work on tackling. If you go live and somebody gets hurt, you going to say you shouldn't. It doesn't matter. You're going to be wrong either way. We feel like that's best for our football team. We need to go live and tackle. That's football."
A statement on whether or not Ajayi did indeed suffer a concussion is expected to be released by the team at some point on Monday.
