Cameron Wake Injury: Updates on Dolphins DE's Hamstring and Return

Miami Dolphins star defensive end Cameron Wake has been dealing with a hamstring issue that has hampered him during the early portion of the 2015 season, but he was active for the team's Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

On Sept. 21, head coach Joe Philbin confirmed the hamstring injury that kept Wake limited at practice during the week was the reason the star defensive end was unable to play in the second half of the team's 23-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, per Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Wake, 33, is a major component of Miami's normally stout defense. He posted 36 tackles, 11.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2014 and was supposed to combine with Olivier Vernon and new signing Ndamukong Suh to give the team one of the league's most dominant defensive lines. 

But after two games, Miami's defense has accumulated just one sack, and Wake's injury seems to be a factor in that disappointing output. Jeff Darlington of NFL.com thinks that the defensive line is going to have to pick up its play very quickly, namely for Philbin's sake:

Still, with Wake less than 100 percent, other players on the line have to pick up the slack, and Derrick Shelby will have to take on an even bigger role to keep Wake fresh. Miami's season is entirely reliant on that defensive line dominating, so having Wake available is important for the team.