Dolphins Facing Running Back Dilemma

The Miami Dolphins have a surplus of running backs on their 53-man roster, and that will come in handy as they prepare to face the Arizona Cardinals.

Even with two running backs definitely out for the game Sunday and a third whose status is in doubt, the Dolphins still will have three other options to consider.

The most prominent of those would be a return to the lineup of veteran Jordan Howard, who started the season opener after being signed in the spring as an unrestricted free agent but has been a healthy scratch the past three games after putting up mediocre stats.

Howard is one of six running backs on the roster, a total that doesn't even include fullback Chandler Cox or rookies Malcolm Perry and Lynn Bowden, two multi-purpose offensive players who certainly have the ability to carry the ball.

In fact, Perry took two snaps as a Wildcat quarterback in the 28-17 victory against the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday, though his one rushing attempt ended in a 5-yard loss when he was met in the backfield by Aaron Donald.

Starter Myles Gaskin was placed on injured reserve Thursday, two days after reports came out that he had sustained a knee injury against the Rams.

His main backup, Matt Breida, missed practice Wednesday and Thursday because of a hamstring injury, and new trade acquisition DeAndre Washington won't be allowed into the building until Monday because of the COVID-19 protocols involving players going to new teams.

So that leaves, in addition to Howard, rookie Salvon Ahmed and second-year player Patrick Laird, who was limited in practice Wednesday with an ankle injury.

"Yeah, we’ve got some guys banged up," head coach Brian Flores said. "Jordan Howard, he’s always practiced hard. I think he’s a good runner. That’s why we brought him here, so he’ll get an opportunity and Salvon Ahmed will get an opportunity as well and Patrick Laird. We like our depth at that position, so those guys will get an opportunity. They’ve got to practice well and hopefully they perform well in the game.”

As it is, the Dolphins running game has struggled all season, ranking 28th in yards per game but even worse ranking 31st in yards per carry at 3.61.

Howard didn't average even 1 yard on his 18 rushing attempts in the first four games, gaining only 14 yards, though he did have three rushing touchdowns.

Ahmed recently was promoted from the practice squad, while Laird joined the Dolphins last year as a rookie free agent and has yet to carry the ball in 2020 after averaging 2.7 yards per carry as a rookie.

So what does that mean for the running game and the offense against Arizona on Sunday?

The good news is that Arizona is allowing 4.71 yards per rushing attempt, which ranks 25th in the NFL. The bad news is whether the Dolphins have anybody who'll be able to carry the load.

So it's not illogical to think the Dolphins will emphasize the short passing game to substitute for the running game or make even more use of the Wildcat formation, with either Perry or Bowden taking the snaps.

Bowden was inactive against the Rams, though that's likely to change this week with Gaskin on IR and Breida a major question mark.

The best-case scenario for the Dolphins clearly would be for Howard to start putting up the kind of numbers he had in his first four NFL seasons when he averaged 4.3 yards per carry and had 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

At this point, the Dolphins are looking for somebody, anybody to become a factor at running back because, even though he was getting a lot of work, Gaskin's impact was limited.

And maybe the Dolphins wouldn't need to have six running backs on their roster if they had one or two who were consistent producers. That said, the high volume will come in handy this week.