Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Gibson left Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots with a leg injury, and will apparently miss the rest of the season as a result.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Monday that Gibson's injury is of the season-ending variety. He tore the patella tendon in his knee, and will require surgery to repair it.
The Dolphins signed Gibson to a three-year, $9.78 million deal over the offseason, and he had served as the team's slot specialist. The fifth-year receiver caught 30 passes for 326 yards and 3 touchdowns this season prior to the injury.
Gibson had become one of QB Ryan Tannehill's favorite targets. He is tied with TE Charles Clay for the team lead in touchdown catches, and 16 of his 27 additional receptions have gone for first downs. Tannehill completed 70% of passes intended for Gibson.
Backup Rishard Matthews played the remainder of the game in Gibson's place, catching 3 passes for 30 yards. In his second year since the Dolphins selected him in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Matthews will likely see more playing time if the Dolphins do not add another receiver to take Gibson's spot on the roster.
However, the Dolphins are expected to try out a number of available free agent receivers this week, as the team has only four other receivers on the roster (Matthews, starters Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline, and Armon Binns). Marcus Thigpen is listed as a receiver on the roster, but he is used more often as a third running back.
Gibson is the second major skill player lost for the season, joining TE Dustin Keller, who tore an ACL during a preseason game.
