*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Dec 19, 1996: -- McPhail Placed on IR --
DOLPHINS NEWS:
The Dolphins announced on Tuesday that they have placed
running back Jerris McPhail on injured reserve and activated running
back Brandon Bennett from the practice squad. This decision was made
after it became clear that McPhail would not be ready for the Jets
game, which is the last game of the season.
McPhail broke his arm in the game against New England on
Nov. 3rd when Keith Sims fell on him after he had run out of bounds.
Until he was injured, McPhail was the designated 3rd down back
for the Dolphins as well as one of it's primary kickoff returners and
had been playing very well. His speed and pass receiving ability made
him a very exciting player to watch.
Brandon Bennett (5'11", 203 lbs) was signed to the Dolphins
practice squad on November 5th and was a teammate of Stanley Pritchett
at South Carolina. He averaged 133 all-purpose yards per game in 1994
and was the Gamecock's leading rusher that year. He wasn't drafted in
the 1995 draft, however and has apparently been looking for a team to
play with since he got out of college.
JJ has been saying some nice things about Bennett in the media
lately and apparently wants to give him a chance to show what he can
do in a real game.
Also signed yesterday to the regular squad was defensive end
Oscar Sturgis. Sturgis, at 6'5" and 278 lbs was a 7th round draft
pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 out of North Carolina, and was on
their team for 1995, although he didn't play much. He was released by
the Cowboys earlier this year and spent a short amount of time with
the Packers this fall before signing with the Dolphins.
And last, but not least, the oft-maligned Joe Nedney was named
AFC special teams player of the week this week by the NFL for making
all 3 of his field goals in this week's victory over the Bills on
Monday night.
RUMORS:
In the rumor department, there is nothing new to report, but
some further digging into the Ricky Watters rumor has turned up
nothing to verify the story in the Trenton Times. All of my sources
in Miami have told me that they have heard nothing about a trade for
Ricky Watters and that JJ is very happy with Karim Abdul-Jabbar as his
starter.
However, there has been some confirmation that JJ may be
interested in trading Richmond Webb for either a pass rusher or a big
play wide receiver. Apparently JJ is not satisfied with his wide
receivers and is looking for someone to help out at that position.
My Comments:
It's a shame that we won't see McPhail again this year, but
there's no point in risking him in a meaningless game. It will be
interesting to see if Brandon Bennett gets much playing time.
I have no detailed info about Oscar Sturgis, so I can't
comment on why JJ might have signed him.
As far as Joe Nedney is concerned, I'm glad he got some
recognition, but it doesn't seem to me that making 3 field goals - all
under 45 yards - is that magnificent a feat. It must have been a slow
week in the AFC...
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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