There's finally some positive news for the Miami Dolphins running back corps.
Offseason acquisition Malcolm Brown returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since sustaining a quad injury in the first half of the 30-28 loss against the Atlanta Falcons at Hard Rock Stadium on Oct. 24.
Brown has missed the past seven games after being placed on IR two days after the loss against Atlanta and the Dolphins now have three weeks to activate him.
The hope, of course, is that Brown actually can be ready this week because that would help the team's problematic running back situation after Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed and Phillip Lindsay all were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and Patrick Laird was placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury he sustained in the 20-9 victory against the New York Giants on Dec. 5.
As the Dolphins began practice Wednesday, the only running back on the active roster was veteran Duke Johnson, who was elevated from the practice squad COVID-19 replacement Monday.
The Dolphins also have rookie seventh-round pick Gerrid Doaks and former Notre Dame standout Dexter Williams, who was signed Tuesday, on the practice squad.
It's rare for any team to go into a game with only two active running backs, so the best guess is that Doaks or Williams will be elevated from the practice squad for the game against the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, or that both of them will get the call-up if Brown isn't quite ready to return to action.
In his seven games with the Dolphins, Brown has never carried more than eight times, which happened in the 27-17 loss against the Indianapolis Colts.
Brown, however, averaged only 2.9 yards per attempt in the game and he's averaging 3.8 yards on the season.
Johnson has appeared in one game as a practice squad elevation, ironically in the first game against the Jets. He gained 18 yards on four carries.
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