It has been a fairly rough stretch for former Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi. Ajayi hit the football equivalent of the jackpot back in 2017 when the Dolphins traded him off of a middling football team to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he would go on to be a key part of their Super Bowl run. Ajayi then entered the 2018 season with the expectation that he could wrestle starting reps away from the stable of backs the Eagles had previously implemented, but that plan was quickly scrapped.
Ajayi played in only 4 games last season, suffering an ACL tear that ended his season. But even before the injury, Ajayi was back to the same tricks that plagued him in Miami — not getting the ball enough. After the team ran 17 times against the Minnesota Vikings, Ajayi griped about the run-pass balance of Doug Pederson’s offense.
“With the offensive line we have on this team, running the ball like that, that doesn’t make sense to me,” said Ajayi.
Whether the issue lies with his injured knee or Ajayi’s bruised ego — he remains unsigned with training camp just a few weeks away. Ajayi should be regarded unfortunately as a major medical risk — he’s now had multiple ACL injuries going back to college.
NFL.com analyst Derek Carr seems to think that Ajayi will remain on the street and unsigned all the way through to the start of the 2019 season. On a segment dedicated to predicting which prominent free agents would be signed or starting for a team Week 1, Carr seemed skeptical that the former Dolphins back would find his footing.
“Jay Ajayi, for me, this is all about health. And unfortunately I think he’s probably going to start the season on the couch but I don’t necessarily think that’s the worst place for him,” said Carr.
“I think with the injuries that he’s had and the way that his body has worn a little bit, that’s the nature of the position. It’s tough to play that position. I think he’s going to start the year on the couch but look for him later on to move to the bench (and sign with a team).”
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