Absence of Talib a break for Miami

DAVIE — The most famous chain in football doesn’t belong to the University of Miami — at least for the moment.

And the Miami Dolphins might be thankful for that.

The chain in question belongs to Oakland Raiders receiver Michael Crabtree. Or at least it used to. Denver Broncos All-Pro cornerback Aqib Talib now has it, although the price he’s paying is a suspension that will mean he’ll miss Sunday’s game at Miami.

For whatever reason, Crabtree insists on wearing the chain out on the field. And for whatever reason, Talib insists on swiping it from around Crabtree’s neck.

Talib made off with it twice before, so Sunday, Crabtree figured he’d outsmart Talib by taping it to himself. Talib still grabbed it, sparking a melee.

So what’s this mean for the Dolphins, who need every edge they can get?

Talib has made four Pro Bowls. The Broncos have Chris Harris Jr. starting opposite him. Harris is a solid, seventh-year pro with 15 career interceptions.

So whom will Denver turn to? Backing up Talib is Bradley Roby, a fourth-year pro from Ohio State who has three starts this season but only 13 in his career out of 59 games played. He has six career interceptions and, at least according to Pro Football Focus, is the 22nd-rated cornerback in the league. Talib is 16th and Harris is 19th.

But what happens when the Dolphins go with their normal three-wide formation with Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills? Harris’ backup is Brendan Langley, a 23-year-old rookie from Lamar who has never started in the NFL. He has two solo tackles and no interceptions.

Plus, Roby struggled two weeks ago against the Bengals as Andy Dalton picked on him in a 20-17 Cincy win. Roby was beaten by Alex Erickson for a 29-yard touchdown. He gave up the winning 18-yard score to A.J. Green with nine minutes left. Finally, Roby was called for pass interference against Green, which allowed the Bengals to eat up the clock.

Broncos coach Vance Joseph, who was coordinating the Dolphins’ defense last season, addressed the Talib incident during a team meeting Monday.

“It’s unacceptable. We can’t do it,” Joseph said. “We can’t lose our best corner in a game like that.”

Hayes placed on IR: One of the few bright spots for the Dolphins this season is ending on a down note.

The Dolphins placed defensive end William Hayes on injured reserve Tuesday because of a back injury, ending his season and perhaps also his Dolphins career.

The move was expected. When coach Adam Gase was asked Monday if he expected Hayes to return this season, he said, “I’m thinking that would be probably tough for him to do.”

Hayes was signed as a free agent from the Rams this offseason to a one-year, $4.75 million contract.

Although he was signed primarily to solidify Miami’s run defense, Hayes quickly proved to be a valuable all-around addition whose impact extended beyond his statistics: 19 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack and five quarterback hits.

But whether Hayes’ Dolphins career is over after just 10 games now is in question. He will become a free agent after the season and with the team falling to 4-7 and currently out of the playoff picture, changes are sure to follow.