Willie Gay Jr. Is the Last Man Standing at Linebacker, and He's Not Fully Healthy

Willie Gay Jr. has 28 tackles across seven games this season — he's been the only linebacker who's actually played meaningful snaps for Miami in 2026. That's the whole story at the position, and it was already a fragile one before his injury status came into question heading into this week.

The depth chart lists Rob Beal Jr., Shaka Heyward, and Liam Anderson behind Gay, but none of them have logged real playing time this season. I wrote last week about Beal being questionable again, and that situation hasn't resolved itself into anything resembling a solution. If Gay can't go, Miami is looking at linebackers who haven't been tested in a game that counts.

Jacob Rodriguez has been a reliable tackler from the safety position — 60 stops in seven games — and the secondary has carried more defensive responsibility than it should have to. But that's a coverage and run-fill problem, not a linebacker replacement. The position group is thin in a way that personnel shuffling at other spots can't paper over.

Miami is 1-5 with 11 games left and an elimination number of nine. The linebacker room was already a structural concern before Gay's health became a question. Now it's the most exposed spot on a defense that doesn't have many covered ones.