*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Sep 19, 1997: -- Dotson Will Play, But May Have Surgery Monday --
** Dotson To Have Surgery **
The Dolphins have announced that Dewayne Dotson, who suffered
a knee bruise this week in practice, will be playing for the Dolphins
this weekend. However, on Monday after the game, the Dolphins plan to
have him evaluated for surgery to remove "loose bodies" from his
knees.
Dotson is the only fullback on the roster who is capable of
playing, with Stanley Pritchett out for 2 to 3 months with knee
damage. If Dotson is sidelined, that will mean that the Dolphins will
have to play one of the running backs - most likely Bernie Parmalee -
as the fullback.
** Kidd Reinjures Hamstring **
John Kidd has aggravated the hamstring he pulled in the opening
game against the Colts and has been downgraded from probably to
doubtful for Sunday's game against the Bucs.
In his place, the Dolphins have re-signed punter Kyle
Richardson to the open roster spot that they have had since they
waived Richardson last week. Richardson did a decent job punting
against the Oilers in game 2 of the season, but was waived after the
game when Kidd was healthy again.
** Pritchett Puts Weight on Leg **
Fullback Stanley Pritchett, who was injured in the Dolphins'
victory over the Oilers, put weight on his leg for the first time
since his surgery on September 7th. He is on-schedule to return to
the Dolphins in November.
** Clayton Holmes may be activated on Monday **
Dolphins cornerback Clayton Holmes, who has been serving a 4
week suspension for violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy,
will become available for activation next week when he comes off
suspension.
The Dolphins have indicated that they would like to activate
Holmes, according to his agent. However, this may be complicated by
the fact that the Dolphins are now at the 53 player limit and would
have to waive someone to activate Holmes.
The most likely candidate for getting waived would be the new
punter Richardson. However, if it looks like Kidd will be sidelined
for an extended period, Holmes may not be back with the team.
My Comments:
Ho hum, another injury. It's getting to be a regular
occurence, not just with the Dolphins but with the league as a whole.
But I'm confused, though. I thought that a young, single
Dolphins player would like to meet some loose bodies. But Dotson just
wants them removed.
Of course, Dotson's injury means more playing time for
Parmalee and probably Ed Perry as well. It will be interesting to see
what kinds of offensive changes the team makes on Sunday.
The news about Pritchett is good, of course, since the
Dolphins could sure use him back. Not only is he a good blocker, but
he's quite a receiver out of the backfield. Does anyone else remember
that he had the longest reception of any Dolphins receiver last year?
It was a 74 yard touchdown reception against the Jets in Miami.
The news on Kidd is not so good, but hopefully he'll have time
to recover now that he is taking this week off. Next week is the Bye
week, so he won't have to kick again until October 5th.
But now we come to the Clayton Holmes question. Do the
Dolphins really want him back? It may be a moot point anyway, because
the Dolphins may be forced to keep Richardson, but if they don't keep
Richardson, Holmes may well be activated.
He isn't really needed on the team right now. The Dolphins
have Spikes and Ismail to return kickoffs and Holmes was the worst of
the current crop of defensive backs. That really leaves Holmes out of
it.
Personally, I don't see any reason that he can't come back to
the team, but I really don't know if he'd do the team any good.
And since the Dolphins may need that roster spot for another
fullback, perhaps it would be better to let Holmes go.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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