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DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase received a text from Arian Foster at 5:30 a.m. on Monday. At that time of day, Gase had a feeling the news wasn't good. Foster explained to Gase that he was retiring from the NFL after eight seasons. The former Pro Bowl running back was struggling with a pair of injuries to his groin and hamstring that were not healing like he expected. Foster rushed for just 5 yards on three carries Sunday in a win over the Buffalo Bills and made up his mind after the game. "I was hoping I was wrong," said Gase, who added he was caught off guard. "But he did a lot of good things in a short period of time for us. I know the injuries were really frustrating for him." Foster made his announcement publicly Monday evening once he was finished contacting teammates and coaches. Although surprised, the Dolphins said they have no issues with Foster leaving the team in the middle of the season.  "I'm not upset because I want what's best for him," Gase said. "If there was anything that was pulling him to where he couldn't be all in or his body wasn't all in, I'm not going to be upset about that, because I had a great relationship with him." Added Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry: "He felt it was time. He can walk away from the game healthy and that's what I want for anyone." Players mentioned the biggest loss with Foster will be his leadership. He had an important role of mentoring young running backs Jay Ajayi, Damien Williams and rookie Kenyan Drake. Foster nearly missed as many games (three) as he played this season (four) but he stayed on top of his younger tailbacks while he was sidelined. According to Ajayi, Foster taught him a lot about running outside zone plays. That's one of the plays with which Ajayi is having a lot of success the past couple weeks while posting back-to-back 200-yard rushing games. "I would definitely say he was a great veteran presence for our team and definitely a big presence for our room," Ajayi said of Foster. "He was able to just give us a lot of insight and the ins and outs of running and his experiences throughout his career. I definitely think that my experience with him grew from the beginning when I first met him. I'm definitely grateful for the time we were able to share."
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