The Miami Dolphins have had many gruesome injuries to key players this season. Just recently, star defender Jaelan Phillips suffered a torn Achilles and was ruled out for the rest of the season, and receiver Jaylen Waddle has been in and out of the lineup the entire year. Now, Miami’s offense has suffered another devastating blow on their offense in their loss to the Tennessee Titans.
𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: #Dolphins have lost starting Lineman Connor Williams for the season with a torn ACL injury, per the team. pic.twitter.com/N7YqHWbhuq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 12, 2023
Miami Dolphins Lose Center For The Season
The Dolphins will lose their starting center Connor Williams for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL. Williams has started 26 games at center since joining the team in 2022 and has been one of the top offensive linemen on the roster. His left knee was rolled up when hit by a Titans defender in Monday night’s loss and was put in a knee brace for the remainder of the matchup.
This will mean the Dolphins will have to likely finish out their season with Liam Eichenberg as the center. Eichenberg has started a few games at center before and has been subbed in to take more snaps. The team could also decide to put rookie Alama Uluave, Chasen Hines, or Lester Cotton in the center position if they want to keep Eichenberg at his current position.
Connor Williams Pending Free Agency
Williams has been trying to fight for a contract extension with Miami since he sat out the entire offseason trying to force the team to sign him to a multi-year extension. However, now that he will likely be recovering for an extended period from the injury, the team could decide to move on from him during the offseason. If he can recover quickly during this offseason, the team could try to chalk up a new deal for him, but it seems unlikely at this stage in Williams’ career.
The Dolphins are now 9-4 and are currently sitting in first place in the AFC East, and second place in the AFC Conference. They will face off against the New York Jets next week in a game that could potentially drop them into the playoff bracket. If the team continues to be bitten by the injury bug, we could see the fall off of Miami come playoff time.
For Additional Content
Please go and follow me on Twitter @TaylorHartmaNFL for more NFL news and updates. If you have any further personal questions or comments for Taylor, connect with him on Linkedin. For more articles on the NFL, go to this site here!