AP

The Dolphins have given running back Jay Ajayi 53 carries over the last two games and he would set a new NFL record for carries if he were to average that kind of workload over an entire season.

Miami has been reaping great rewards from that workload. Behind a healthy offensive line, Ajayi has run with the kind of power that made him appealing to the Dolphins in the first place and has put up 418 yards and three touchdowns in a pair of victories that have brightened the outlook for the season in South Florida.

Things would get even brighter if Ajayi can continue slicing through opposing defenses, but coach Adam Gase said the team is cognizant of not pushing Ajayi too far in pursuit of those kinds of results. Gase said Ajayi needs to be honest about how he’s feeling and that the Dolphins are “going to have to be smart about it if we’re going to be giving him that many carries.”

“When you run the style that he’s running right now, where it’s physical – he’s taking on a lot of hits, but he’s breaking a lot of tackles – over time that’s going to take a little bit of a toll, so we just have to make sure we monitor [him] throughout the game,” Gase said, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

With Arian Foster retiring this week, the Dolphins will look to Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake as complements to Ajayi in the backfield. Having one or both find a role would help limit some of the wear and tear on Ajayi, but it is never advisable to go away from what’s working so the Dolphins figure to continue riding Ajayi until the results tell them it’s time to try something else.