DAVIE, Fla. — Miami Dolphins Coach Adam Gase decided to risk heavy contact by allowing tackling at practice Monday, and the hitting was so fierce that running back Jay Ajayi suffered a possible concussion.

Ajayi walked off the field accompanied by trainers after several jarring collisions, including one that dislodged linebacker Lawrence Timmons’ helmet.

Gase declined to second-guess his decision – at least not with the media.

“If we don’t go live, you guys write that we don’t work on tackling,” he said.

“If we do go live and somebody gets hurt, then you say we shouldn’t. You’re going to be wrong either way. We feel like that’s best for our football team. We needed to go live and tackle, and it’s football.”

Gase said the Dolphins didn’t tackle in a training camp practice during his first year as coach in 2016 – and also didn’t tackle well at the start of the season. He ran the idea of a full-contact drill past the team.

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“When you talk to some of your veteran players, and you can’t even finish the sentence and they’re saying, ‘Absolutely,’ that’s when you know it’s a good thing,” he said.

Ajayi had a breakout year for the Dolphins last season when he ran for 1,272 yards and had consecutive 200-yard games.

STEELERS: Rookie running back James Conner’s first NFL training camp is off to a rough start.

Conner missed practice Monday while undergoing tests on a shoulder injury sustained on Sunday during the team’s first padded workout.

CARDINALS: Arizona bolstered arguably its weakest position by signing ex-Cleveland cornerback Tramon Williams.

Finding a cornerback to play opposite Patrick Peterson has been a problem for Arizona. Coach Bruce Arians recently declared it open between Justin Bethel and Brandon Williams, although Ronald Zamort, an undrafted rookie, had looked good at the position before tearing an ACL in Saturday’s Red and Blue practice.

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CHARGERS: Coach Anthony Lynn says he hasn’t forbidden Philip Rivers or Antonio Gates from attending former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.

Rivers told the NFL Network he won’t travel to Canton for the ceremony honoring Tomlinson, the Chargers’ longtime star running back. Gates hasn’t said where he will be.

But Lynn squashed any notion that he had ordered his two veterans to stay in camp.

JETS: Safety Jamal Adams said during a forum with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and season-ticket holders that if he had his choice, the football field is “the perfect place to die.”

Fans were able to ask questions Monday during the session, which also included Jets running back Matt Forte. One brought up player health and safety, coming off the largest update on chronic traumatic encephalopathy so far.

Adams, the Jets’ first-round pick from LSU, says he understands the focus on safety, but would “be at peace” if he died on the field over anywhere else because of the sacrifice he and other players make to play the game.

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JAGUARS: Left tackle Branden Albert abruptly retired, ending his NFL career after nine seasons and two Pro Bowls.

LIONS: Detroit signed tackle Nick Becton and put tackle Tony Hills on the reserve/retired list.

RAIDERS: Former defensive back Dave Grayson has died. He was 78.

Grayson played 139 career games with the Raiders, Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.


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