Losman, Uncle Art ready for return to Buffalo

DAVIE, Fla. -- J.P. Losman is saying uncle. But that's a good thing. When Losman was out of the NFL at the start of this season, he kept in shape by throwing passes to his uncle at Santa Monica (Calif.) Community College. Finally, the Miami Dolphins signed Losman on Oct. 25. Losman completed his first regular-season NFL pass last Sunday in nearly three years. And now he might start at quarterback Sunday at Buffalo against his old team after Matt Moore suffered a neck and head injury. "He told me if I ever get back in there he's like, 'You better mention me,'" Losman said Wednesday about his uncle. So, naturally, Losman was asked: Who is this uncle? "He's crazy. His name is Uncle Art. He doesn't have a last name," Losman said with a laugh. "He does but you will call him Uncle Art if you met him. Trust me. That's what his name is We all went to Venice (Calif.) High School. "He's 5-foot-6. He's a dark, dark Mexican man. He has excellent hands. He's a very, very good athlete. He was a high school star until he did, from what I'm told, senior year first game, he did the funky chicken and the coach kicked him out. He couldn't play his senior year of football. Ever since then he thought he should have made it to the NFL. That's the end. That's Uncle Art." While Losman wouldn't reveal his uncle's last name, it is Soto. The Los Angeles Times did a story in 2003 on 10 Soto family members having then played at Venice, with Art, a 1978 graduate, being the first one. Losman, whose mother was born Tricia Soto, has been the biggest star of them all. He went on to UCLA and Tulane and entered the NFL with the Bills in 2004. By 2006, Losman was the team's starting quarterback, throwing that season for 3,051 yards and 19 touchdowns. But Losman hasn't done much since. He lost his job in 2007 and was gone from the Bills after the 2008 season. He played in the United Football League in 2009 before getting into one game late in that season for the Oakland Raiders, going 0-of-1. Losman was on Seattle's roster late last season but didn't get into a regular-season game. But Losman is now primed to make his first NFL start since 2008. Moore was knocked out of the third quarter of last Sunday's game against Philadelphia and didn't practice Wednesday. "He's taking tests right now," Dolphins interim coach Todd Bowles said early Wednesday evening. "When he gets back and the training room gets back to me, we'll evaluate that later and I can better tell you at that time (Moore's status)." If Losman gets the call Sunday, he would be the 17th different quarterback to start for the Dolphins since the legendary Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season. And it would come during Losman's first trip back to Buffalo since he was let go by the Bills. Losman claims he would have "nothing to prove." But he does admit it would be odd if he's behind center against his old team. Losman said he's already had a "gazillion text messages and voicemails" from fans in Buffalo who say "they're going to bring out their Losman jerseys" from his Bills days to Sunday's game. "Yeah, this is bizarre," said Losman, who completed 6-of-10 passes for 60 yards in the 26-10 loss to the Eagles. "Trust me. It's been bizarre since I left Buffalo. My last year in Buffalo was foreign to me, not getting reps and someone else (Trent Edwards) being the starter full time. That was odd. It's been odd for about three years for me now, 3 . "Beginning of the season I was in school. I was throwing with my uncle, throwing at the local college. We were just throwing balls four times a week. And here you are with a chance to start here on a Sunday against your former team and some former friends and former fans. Yeah, it'll be exciting." No doubt Uncle Art is excited. Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson