DAVIE, Fla. – The Miami Dolphins will be without one of their best players on defense for the remainder of the season.
Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones suffered a season-ending injury in Miami's 30-15 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Adam Gase announced Wednesday.
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"It's a big impact," Gase said of losing Jones.
Jones started all six games for the Dolphins this season, recording four pass deflections and one interception. His first interception came in the second quarter against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The seven-year veteran, who hasn't missed a game because of injury in the past five seasons, was ruled out for the year Wednesday after receiving a second opinion on the injury.
Jones was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2015. He led the Dolphins and all NFL defensive backs last year with 106 solo tackles, and has 31 this season.
"The leadership that he has brought for us has been something that I’ve asked of him about him speaking up on certain things and becoming more of a vocal leader, which was something that was outside of what he had really done in the past," Gase said. "But he embraced that role and has really done a great job as far as leading on and off the field."
His absence further depletes a secondary already without rookie starting cornerback Xavien Howard because of a knee injury. He'll be replaced in the starting lineup by Michael Thomas or Walt Aikens.
"The thing we have to do now is we have to step up," Gase said.