The Miami Dolphins are in their second week of training camp and have still yet to see Knowshon Moreno active on the field outside of drills. The running back was brought in after a career-high season with the Denver Broncos, expected to bring the Dolphins' ground game out of the bottom depths of the NFL rankings. However, that has not gone to plan and now fans are wondering if there is any hope Moreno will be effective this season.
There is not much time for Moreno to prove himself. After rushing for 1,038 yards last season, he only signed a one-year contract in Miami. The team will not hesitate to move on from him, but first another running back could take a hit before Moreno. Right now, Lamar Miller continues to cement himself as the team's starting back. He is taking all of the first-team reps in wake of Moreno's absence and the coaching staff likes what they see.
Head coach Joe Philbin originally said that the starting spot was Moreno's to lose, but a knee injury has pushed Miller to the forefront of the depth chart. According to the Miami Herald, Moreno is still nursing a knee injury and has no timetable for his full return. While telling media that he feels good and has not had any setbacks in his recovery, he is aware that he might be losing his starting spot, something he is trying not to worry about.
"To tell you truth, I'm not even worried about that," Moreno said, via the Miami Herald. "That's not my decision. The only thing I can do is what I do out here on the field and get better each day. Whatever the decision the coaches make, it's the decision the coaches make. But at the same time, I feel like any one in that backfield, any one of those backs, can be a starter or help this team in some way."
So while Miller is the starter and Moreno will continue to have a spot on the roster no matter what, is Daniel Thomas the odd man out in South Beach? The Herald continues its report starting that Thomas is risking release despite the thought that he could start at some point. Thomas lost his biggest supporter when Jeff Ireland was fired as the team's general manager. Early reports state that Thomas has been relatively inactive in camp while Mike Gillislee is getting more plays with the second and third team offense.
This is not the run game the Dolphins were thinking they would have, but Philbin notes that as long as the unit is productive, he is not concerned with who the starter is. He is aiming for a 50-50 split when it comes to runs and passes and as long as the running back on the field can handle that, he is not concerned with who it is.
