The Miami Dolphins lost starting center Connor Williams for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
The news was more positive for star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is considered day-to-day with an ankle injury.
Both Williams and Hill were hurt Monday night in the first quarter of a 28-27 defeat to the visiting Tennessee Titans.
Williams, 26, is in his second season in Miami and sixth in the NFL. He has made 77 starts across 83 career games with the Dallas Cowboys (2018-21) and Miami.
“You don’t directly replace him, necessarily,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I’d love to take the time right now to speak to the regard that this team has for Connor Williams and what he was doing this year, playing some excellent ball … You don’t necessarily replace that directly. However, you also prepare a lot for contingencies for these types of scenarios.”
Liam Eichenberg filled in at center Monday night and is expected to start at the position going forward.
As for Hill, he was injured with 2:50 left in the first quarter while being tackled. Tennessee’s Sean Murphy-Bunting brought down Hill with the latter’s lower left leg getting stuck underneath the left side of the cornerback’s body.
Hill was able to run off the field, from the Titans’ sideline to the Dolphins’, but he stayed out of the game till midway through the third quarter. He finished the night with four catches for 61 yards on just 34 snaps (47 percent of the offense’s plays).
“When it happened, like my first reaction was like, man, my ankle is gone,” Hill said postgame. “My adrenaline kicked in, I ran off the field, then I sat for a while and it got stiff and I was going through a lot of pain. Then I just made up in my mind, I came in at halftime, I texted my wife, I was like, ‘This (expletive) hurt.’ I need an ankle massage tonight, and she’s like, ‘You’d better get your ass back in that game, dawg.’ I was like, ‘All right.'”
Come Tuesday, McDaniel called it too early to be confident about Hill’s status for Sunday’s home game against the New York Jets.
“It was a painful ankle. Until he flat-out tells me there’s no doubt he’s going to play, you always have to plan for everything,” McDaniel said.
Hill is attempting to be the first 2,000-yard receiver in league history. He leads the NFL with 1,542 yards and 12 touchdown catches and ranks second with 97 receptions.
–Field Level Media