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Report: Stevan Ridley to visit Miami Dolphins

By Josh Criswell

Aug 22, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Carolina Panthers safety Colin Jones (42) attempts to tackle New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 22, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; Carolina Panthers safety Colin Jones (42) attempts to tackle New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Miami Dolphins are hosting former New England Patriot Stevan Ridley today, as their search for running back depth continues.

With Knowshon Moreno entering unrestricted free agency and coming off of his second severe knee injury in just four years, the Miami Dolphins are moving on and in search of a new power-back to pair with rising-star Lamar Miller.

Stevan Ridley could very well be the man to fill that void. The Dolphins are expected to bring Ridley in for a visit today, to see how well he would pair with the 23-year old Miller.

Ridley appears to be a perfect fit in Miami on paper. He is a strong, downhill runner who still possesses breakaway speed. At the very least, he would be an upgrade over Moreno. A 27-year-old running back with a history of major knee injuries would be a huge gamble, and as your main power-back, a disaster-in-waiting for Miami.

Ridley would definitely take a back-seat to the speedy Miller, who ran for a career-high 1,099 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, and is by all means the Dolphins’ running back of the future. The question remains whether or not Ridley will be the right fit in Miami, as his career has been somewhat of a mixed bag to this point. After a breakout sophomore season in which he registered 1,263 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, Ridley spent the last two seasons in the Patriots doghouse due to ball security issues.

Aside from past troubles protecting the football, he is also coming off of a torn ACL that caused him to miss the final 10 games of the 2014 season. Fortunately, this is the first serious injury of Ridley’s career, and thanks to Les Miles’ running-back-by-committee system he benefited from at LSU, he has nowhere near the wear-and-tear of your average 26-year-old running back.

If the strong power-back is able to overcome his injury and fumble issues, however, Ridley and Miller could give the Dolphins a potentially dangerous backfield duo with tremendous upside.

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