Report: Miami Dolphins to workout one of their former running backs

The Dolphins could need an extra back if the two on the reserve/COVID-19 list don’t come back this week.

The Miami Dolphins running back room is looking really thin these days.

Last week, Patrick Laird (knee) joined Malcolm Brown (quad) on the injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least three games. Miami also placed Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and they will both need two negative results at least 24 hours apart to return to the team.

For now, the Dolphins have Phillip Lindsay as the lone back on the active roster and a practice squad that has Duke Johnson and Gerrid Doaks on it.

However, according to WSVN Sports Anchor Josh Moser, Miami is meeting with one of their former lead backs, Lamar Miller, on Monday for a workout.

The Dolphins took Miller in the fourth round of the 2012 draft, and he spent four seasons with Miami, totaling 2,930 yards and 19 touchdowns on an impressive 4.6 yards per carry average.

Miller had three solid years with the Texans after that before tearing ACL in 2019. Since then, he’s bounced around between four teams, including the New Orleans Saints practice squad that he was released from last month.

At this point in his career, Miller isn’t much of a difference-maker, but the Dolphins just need someone who can run the ball. It would honestly make more sense to see them call up both backs from the practice squad to see what they have there, but maybe Miller is better than Johnson or Doaks right now.

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Saints waive DT Montravius Adams, release RB Lamar Miller from practice squad

Saints waive DT Montravius Adams, release RB Lamar Miller from practice squad

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The New Orleans Saints are continuing to churn their depth chart at defensive tackle and running back, with veteran players Montravius Adams and Lamar Miller released on Tuesday. Adams will test the waiver wire while Miller was cut from the practice squad.

Adams played 16 snaps in last week’s game with the Tennessee Titans after being inactive a week earlier. He’s been released and re-signed a time or two already this season so it’s possible he returns in some capacity, possibly to the practice squad.

Other defensive tackles under contract right now include David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle, and Malcolm Roach, with Albert Huggins and Josiah Bronson on the practice squad. Of that group only Onyemata and Tuttle have played every game since Onyemata returned from his early-season suspension in Week 7.

As for Miller: he hasn’t played a down for the Saints since signing with their practice squad a few weeks ago despite injuries to Alvin Kamara, Ty Montgomery, and Tony Jones Jr. New Orleans also signed free agent running back Josh Adams to the practice squad recently so they may have felt two reserve players was too many.

Kamara could return to play this week though we won’t know much about his and Montgomery’s status until Wednesday’s injury report is released. Jones is eligible to return from injured reserve whenever he is healthy, but Mark Ingram and Dwayne Washington should continue to hold it down.

More roster moves are expected with veteran kicker Brett Maher signing with the Saints practice squad and a group of receivers trying out on Tuesday. Check back here at Saints Wire for the latest changes.

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Saints sign RB Josh Adams to practice squad after tryout

Saints sign RB Josh Adams to practice squad after tryout

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The New Orleans Saints signed running back Josh Adams to their practice squad after a free agent tryout, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Adams was one of three running backs the Saints hosted for a group workout on Tuesday along with Detroit Lions 2018 draft pick Kerryon Johnson and former Carolina Panthers backup Rodney Smith.

Why the interest in running backs? Alvin Kamara briefly exited Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons to receive treatment in the blue medical trainer’s tent on the sidelines before returning, and we should learn more about what’s ailing him on Wednesday’s injury report. If he’s going to take on a lighter workload in the weeks ahead, it makes sense to add more depth.

And because the Saints have had a vacant spot available on their practice squad they can sign Adams without cutting anyone. But there are some moving parts involved after backup linebacker Chase Hansen was waived on Tuesday. He’s a candidate to return to the practice squad after the Saints recently activated him from injured reserve.

Here’s the updated Saints running backs depth chart (not counting Tony Jones Jr., who remains on injured reserve):

  • Alvin Kamara
  • Mark Ingram
  • Dwayne Washington
  • Lamar Miller (practice squad)
  • Josh Adams (practice squad)

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Saints continue to build RB depth, sign veteran free agent Lamar Miller

Saints continue to build RB depth, sign veteran free agent Lamar Miller

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Tony Jones Jr. had one of the stronger summers the New Orleans Saints had seen recently and played well enough to supplant more-experienced teammates like Latavius Murray and Devonta Freeman, but he’s going to be out of action for a few more weeks while recovering from an injury. The Saints already added a couple of new faces to their running backs room in the meantime, and now they’ve brought in one more: Lamar Miller, who earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2018.

Here’s what I wrote of him after his Oct. 5 workout with the team:

Miller, 30, was an elite athlete when he came out of Miami back in 2012 (drafted in the fourth round by his hometown Miami Dolphins, of course), posting an RAS of 9.38. He went on to log 1,354 rushing attempts to gain 5,864 yards (4.3 YPC) and score 32 touchdown runs for the Dolphins and Houston Texans, also catching 211 receptions on 273 targets for another 1,571 receiving yards and 8 more touchdown catches. But he only saw two receptions for 6 yards in one game with the Chicago Bears last year.

He’s pretty low on the totem pole now, joining Ryquell Armstead (who was also part of that group tryout) on the practice squad. Alvin Kamara, Dwayne Washington, and Devine Ozigbo remain on the 53-man roster, as does fullback Alex Armah Jr. (whose backup Adam Prentice is also on the practice squad).

New Orleans now has occupied 14 of the 16 practice squad spots available to them, with all vacancies filled on the 53-man roster. We should anticipate a number of departures and roster moves with a number of players returning from injuries and suspension over the next few weeks.

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Saints try out running backs with Tony Jones Jr. facing 3-4 week absence

Saints try out running backs with Tony Jones Jr. facing 3-4 week absence

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We haven’t learned many specifics about the ankle injury Tony Jones Jr. suffered against the New York Giants, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday afternoon that the New Orleans Saints’ backup running back is facing an absence of three to four weeks while recovering.

While New Orleans could get by with Alvin Kamara and Dwayne Washington in a pinch, that prompted the team to bring in a group of five free agents for workouts while searching for a third runner:

Washington releases 3 players, including wide receiver Kelvin Harmon

Washington began trimming its roster on Sunday by releasing three players. Every NFL team must be down to 85 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.

The NFL rules for roster cuts are a bit different in 2021. Every NFL team must trim their roster from 90 players to 85 after the first preseason game.

The Washington Football Team cut the following three players on Sunday: wide receiver Kelvin Harmon, running back Lamar Miller and defensive back Chris Miller.

Only Harmon was a bit of a surprise. And, his release really isn’t a surprise. I haven’t included Harmon on any of my 53-man roster projections all summer.

A former sixth-round pick from N.C. State in 2019, Harmon caught 30 passes for 365 yards as a rookie. He played in all 16 games. Unfortunately for Harmon, he suffered a torn ACL last summer and missed the 2020 season — and a chance to impress head coach Ron Rivera and the new coaching staff.

The release of Harmon shows how much depth Washington has at wide receiver now. There will be other players cut who can play, which is a good problem to have.

The competition at wide receiver is stiff right now with DeAndre Carter, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Steven Sims Jr. and Dax Milne battling it out for what is likely one roster spot.

Lamar Miller is a 30-year-old running back who signed with Washington late in the season in 2020. A former Pro Bowler with the Texans, Miller was never making Washington’s roster in 2021, barring injuries.

Chris Miller was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals in May.

After releasing three players, Washington is down to 87 players. Defensive end David Bada’s roster spot doesn’t count against the 90-man roster as he is in the International Pathway program.

 

Washington re-signs both RB Lamar Miller and OT David Sharpe

Washington brought back two players on Wednesday morning, signing RB Lamar Miller and OT David Sharpe to one-year contracts that add depth.

After bringing in two big-name free agents in both Ryan Fitzpatrick and William Jackson III on Monday and Tuesday, the Washington Football Team kicked the day off on Wednesday with a couple of small re-signings that will keep solid depth on their roster.

Washington brought back RB Lamar Miller and OT David Sharpe, both on one-year deals for the 2021 season.

Miller was a late addition to the roster in 2020, added for depth while rookie Antonio Gibson was sidelined with a turf toe injury, and he never saw the field during the game. However, with Peyton Barber likely gone this offseason, Miller can now occupy that RB3 role behind Gibson and J.D. McKissic.

As for Sharpe, he played sparingly in 2020, starting just 2 of the 10 games he played in and accounting for 17% of those snaps. However, Washington did trade a late-round pick from Sharpe last season to bring him in from the Las Vegas Raiders, so it makes sense that they would be interested in keeping him on the roster.

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Alabama Football: Bill O’Brien’s lead running backs by the numbers

Roll Tide Wire takes a dive into every lead running back’s numbers under new Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien.

Bill O’Brien is Alabama’s new offensive coordinator after the departure of Steve Sarkisian. For anyone unfamiliar with the NFL, O’Brien is a name that may come with questions.

To get a good idea of some of the production under O’Brien during his time as a head coach for Penn State and the Houston Texans, Roll Tide Wire is giving fans a few numbers to look at.

First, it started with the quarterback statistics, but now we are shifting focus to the running backs — particularly the lead back under O’Brien. With the Nittany Lions, we went ahead and included two, however.

Enjoy!

Other related articles:

Quarterback numbers under Bill O’Brien

Washington has signed RB Lamar Miller off Bears’ practice squad

We’ll never know what could’ve been with RB Lamar Miller in Chicago as Washington signed him off the Bears’ practice squad on Wednesday.

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Lamar Miller, we hardly knew ya.

The Chicago Bears signed Miller to their practice squad back on Oct. 5, but they never really utilized him in the two months he was available to them. Would you expect anything else from a Matt Nagy offense?

Now, we’ll never know what could’ve been with Miller in Chicago as the Washington Football Team has signed Miller off the Bears’ practice squad on Wednesday.

Miller wasn’t one of the three protected players on Chicago’s practice squad, which left him up for grabs by another NFL team looking to add him to their active roster.

Washington running backs Antonio Gibson and Peyton Barber are a tad banged up, and Miller provides some needed depth.

Miller appeared in just one game for the Bears back in Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings, where Chicago utilized a running-back-by-committee approach with David Montgomery sidelined with a concussion. In that game, Miller caught two passes for six yards.

Not that the Bears have missed Miller, especially with Montgomery lighting it up over the last three games. Montgomery has posted two 100-yard rushing games in the last three weeks. He also leads all NFL rushers with a 7.38 yards per carry average in that same span, where he’s totaled 288 rushing yards on 39 attempts with three touchdowns.

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Washington signs LB Lamar Miller off of Chicago Bears practice squad

Washington has signed veteran RB Lamar Miller off of the Bears practice squad, which could tell us something about Antonio Gibson’s injury.

The Washington Football Team is reportedly signing LB Lamar Miller off of the Chicago Bears practice squad, which will make him eligible to play in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers.

With some uncertainty at the position following an injury to rookie running back Antonio Gibson, this move makes a lot of sense, bringing in a veteran player who can help out should Gibson not be able to return to the field as soon as some may expect.

Gibson suffered a turf toe injury in Week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was unable to play in Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers. He was present at practice on Wednesday, but was said to only do limited work with a trainer. We will see how he progresses through the week, but a move like this from the team seems to point towards Gibson missing more time than we originally expected.