Dolphins History Lesson: Picking Up a 1,000-Yard Rusher

The Miami Dolphins could be on the verge of landing three-time 1,000-yard rusher Le'Veon Bell, according to a report suggesting they're one of the three finalists for his services now that he's a free agent.

If he does end up in Miami, Bell would join a long list of running backs who joined the Dolphins after rushing for 1,000 yards for another team.

Unfortunately for the Dolphins, they haven't had great luck with those players being able to duplicate their success in Miami.

The Dolphins have had 14 running backs who joined the team as 1,000-yard rushers, and only two of them did it again with Miami: Delvin Williams and Ricky Williams.

Here's the complete rundown:

1966, Cookie Gilchrist: In their very first season, the Dolphins acquired Gilchrist in a trade four years after he had rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the Bills. Gilchrist rushed for 262 yards in eight games for the Dolphins in 1966 before he was traded away to Denver.

1978, Delvin Williams: The Dolphins gave up a lot (two draft picks and two players) to get Williams a year removed from a 1,203-yard season and he provided an immediate impact with a team-record 1,258-yard season in 1978. But Williams never was able to have another 1,000-yard season after that.

1984, Pete Johnson: The Dolphins traded a second-round pick to the Chargers to get Johnson, who had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 1981 for the Bengals, and while he gained only 159 rushing yards in nine games, he did score nine rushing touchdowns.

1988, Joe Cribbs: Cribbs rushed for more than 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons with Buffalo after coming into the NFL in 1980, but his career took a downturn and it ended with him getting only five rushing attempts in 12 games for Miami in 1988.

1990, Tony Collins: Collins was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Patriots in 1983 and he joined the Dolphins after sitting out two seasons because of a drug-related suspension. The Dolphins released Collins after one game in the 1990 season.

1992, Bobby Humphrey: Humphrey arrived from Denver for Sammie Smith in a trade of former first-round picks, but he played only one season for Miami and rushed for 471 yards.

1994, Cleveland Gary: Gary was a first-round pick out of the University of Miami in 1989 and he rushed for 1,125 in 1992. But injuries began taking their roll and played only two games in his only season with Miami.

2000, Thurman Thomas: Thomas was winding up his Hall of Fame career when he joined the Dolphins in 2000, and he was mostly used as a pass catcher before a knee injury ended his season and career.

2002, Robert Edwards: The Dolphins got Edwards three years after he suffered a devastating knee injury playing flag football at the Pro Bowl after he had rushed for 1,000 yards as a rookie for the Patriots. Edwards scored two touchdowns in his first game with the Dolphins, but ended up with only 20 carries for 107 yards in 12 games.

2002, Ricky Williams: No need to talk about this one too much. The Dolphins gave up two first-round picks for Williams, who produced the two best rushing seasons in team history in his first two seasons.

2011, Larry Johnson: Johnson was five years removed from back-to-back 1,700-yard rushing seasons when he joined the Dolphins. He was among the final roster cuts, was brought back after an injury, then was cut again after rushing once for 2 yards in his one game.

2014, Knowshon Moreno: Moreno joined the Dolphins right after rushing for 1,308 yards for Denver and had a brilliant opener (134 yards, TD) in a big victory against New England, but he tore a knee ligament in Week 3 and never played again.

2016, Arian Foster: Foster had four 1,000-yard seasons but numerous injuries when he joined the Dolphins, and the injury bug popped up again, prompting him to retire after playing only four games for Miami.

2018, Frank Gore: Gore joined the Dolphins after producing eight 1,000-yard seasons and he rushed for 722 yards for the Dolphins, though his 4.6 average was his best since 2012. The Dolphins will see him again this weekend now that Gore is playing for the Jets.