Rough sledding for the Miami Dolphins continued Wednesday with the news that safety Reshad Jones is out for the season with a shoulder injury, as first reported by NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase later confirmed the news during a conference call with reporters before the team officially placed him on injured reserve.
The team was increasingly worried that the Pro Bowl defender tore his rotator cuff in this past weekend's win over the Steelers. Jones had his first pick of the season off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 17 yards.
There is almost no need to state the obvious: Jones was the best strong safety in football last year and was the glue holding together a struggling Dolphins secondary. Byron Maxwell, who had his best game of the season last week against Antonio Brown, owed a great deal of his Sunday success to the heady veteran.
In the past, Gase talked about Jones' play on the field and how he wished there were more Dolphins who would play with that kind of intensity. The focus now shifts to Walt Aikens, a 2014 fourth-round draft pick. Miami could also platoon some of their other defensive backs in an effort to mask the hole in their secondary.
As many great defenses will attest, replacing someone like Jones is not done with just one player.