Miami Dolphins defensive line depth takes another hit vs. Raiders after an ejection

The Miami Dolphins’ defensive line took a pair of quick hits on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.

One drive after William Hayes left the game with a knee injury, defensive tackle Akeem Spence was ejected in the second quarter after being called for an unnecessary roughness call after pulling off an Oakland Raiders player’s helmet on third down. The play negated a Cam Wake sack and allowed Oakland to continue a 16-play, 68-yard drive capped with a 25-yard field goal by Mike Nugent and take a 10-7 lead with 4:04 left in the first half. The drive took 8:37 off the game clock.

Spence finished the game with just one tackle, but the bigger concern now is depth since Hayes is questionable to return after suffering a right knee injury on a sack one drive earlier.

The Dolphins have three defensive tackles available in Davon Godchaux, Jordan Phillips and Vincent Taylor. They have four defensive ends in Wake, Andre Branch, Robert Quinn and Charles Harris.

This story was originally published September 23, 2018 at 2:15 PM.