Dolphins’ Knowshon Moreno goes on injured reserve

STEVEN WINE
AP Sports Writer

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) — Knowshon Moreno is sidelined again, this time for the rest of the season, which has left the Miami Dolphins digging deep into their depth chart at running back.

Moreno went on injured reserve with a knee injury Tuesday, two days after he hurt his anterior cruciate ligament in the Dolphins’ loss to Green Bay. It was his third injury since signing a $3.275 million, one-year contract in March after five seasons with the Denver Broncos.

Starting running back Lamar Miller jogged on the side at the beginning of practice with an unspecified injury, which left undrafted rookie Damien Williams working with the first team. Veteran Daniel Thomas is listed third on the depth chart.

“We’ve got some good running backs here, and we can get the job done,” Miller said.

Moreno led the NFL with 134 yards rushing in Week 1. He missed two subsequent games with an elbow injury, and sat out the start of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in June.

He can become a free agent again in March.

The Dolphins filled Moreno’s roster spot by reinstating reserve defensive lineman Derrick Shelby from his suspension, which came after he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and trespassing at a nightclub.

The running game has been a strength for the Dolphins (2-3), who play Sunday at Chicago. They rank third in the NFL in yards per play and sixth in yards per game.

Miller, a third-year pro, ranks third among all running backs at 5.2 yards per carry, even though his longest game has been only 24 yards. He has started all five games and leads the Dolphins with 330 yards rushing. He also has 15 catches for 93 yards and has scored four times, double his total for all of 2013.

The injury that sidelined him Tuesday isn’t believed to be serious.

“He can do some things both running the ball and receiving,” Philbin said. “We look forward to him contributing a lot moving forward.”

Williams, who was undrafted out of Oklahoma, has played mostly on special teams this year. He has rushed for 39 yards in 12 carries and is confident he can take up the slack for Moreno.

“I feel I can continue doing whatever he has been doing, whatever the coaches want me to do,” Williams said.

Moreno carried six times for only 10 yards against Green Bay — his first game in a month. His injury wasn’t disclosed until Tuesday, and teammates were surprised to learn the news.

“It was kind of weird coming in today and finding this out, like, ‘Oh man, when did this happen?'” Williams said.

Philbin said neither he nor the team trainer were told about any injury Sunday.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

___

Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Steve_Wine

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up