Miami Dolphins interest in Stevan Ridley makes sense

The Miami Dolphins have one of the NFL’s most underrated running backs, as Lamar Miller was finally given a chance to shine last season after somehow averaging four yards per carry in 2013 behind the league’s worst offensive line. With boosts up front, Miller ran for over 1,000 yards and was one of the most efficient backs with eight touchdowns and 5.1 yards per carry. That said, the Dolphins know that they could use another back behind him on the roster, preferably one with a different skill-set as a rusher, since they only trusted Miller with 216 carries last year.

Enter former New England Patriots feature back Stevan Ridley. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Ridley is visiting the Dolphins today, and they are the third team to be linked to the former 1,200-yard rusher. The Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings once showed cursory interest in him, but the Dolphins are the first team he’s visited. Ridley will be making other trips this week, and we’ll have to see if the fact that he’s heading to Miami first holds any importance.

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I’ve always been high on Miller as a rusher, because he’s a speedy guy with good vision who can easily get more than the blocking in front of him, as we saw in the 2013 season. But while the Dolphins have finally come around on him, they aren’t fans of wearing the tread on his tires, as evidenced by the fact that he never had a game with 20 carries last season (he had 19 rushes in both of his final games, which were excellent performances for 92 and 178 yards, respectively).

Meanwhile, Ridley is a workhorse, and his ACL tear last season is the only major injury of his four-year career. Aside from overplayed fumbling issues, last year’s major injury, and his lack of ability in the passing game, there are no major knocks on Ridley. Like Miller, he possesses good vision, but he’s also tougher than Miller between the tackles and is a complete rusher, in that he can consistently gain chunks of yardage inside or outside.

In the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Ridley had a combined 19 rushing touchdowns, averaging 4.4 and 4.3 yards, respectively, in those two seasons. He was an integral part of the Patriots offense as a 290-carry bellcow back in 2012, and I would be surprised if durability issues creep up again.

There’s always a chance that the ACL tear saps out Ridley’s ability, but any team in need of a consistent, talented, and bruising rusher with a great blend of speed and strength should take a flier on him. He’ll get nothing more than a one-year, “prove-it” deal on the cheap, and that could end up being pennies on the dollar if he can run like the did in 2012 and 2013.

Since Miller caught 38 passes last season, the Dolphins won’t be worried about Ridley’s inability to make an impact in the passing game, since they can just hand Ridley an early-down role or give him carries in short-yardage situations. Whenever a cloud-of-dust run is needed, Ridley can produce it, and it would spare Miller from punishment, thus optimizing his carries.

At some point, an RB-needy team looking at Ridley could be in a position to start him during the regular season, but he’ll ideally slot in as part of a tandem. Nobody will want to put many eggs in his basket following last season’s injury, and even though he has proven that he has fully legit feature back ability, it makes sense for him to rehab his value with a team like the Dolphins where he can be used in situations that suit him better before potentially trying to earn a lead-back gig.

The Miami Dolphins already have their No. 1 back in Miller, but it would be wise for them to pursue a better No. 2 guy than Damien Williams. Ridley, who lit it up on the ground as a starter for the Patriots, can be that guy, especially since his power and pure rushing ability should mesh well with Miller’s quickness and efficiency. Miller is one of my favorite backs in the league right now due to his consistency, and Ridley would give the Dolphins an RB with a different playing style who is also efficient.

Oct 5, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley (22) rushes against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

If the Dolphins do decide to add Stevan Ridley, then Miller still needs to clearly hoard the snaps and touches with the former Patriot playing more of a complementary role.

While Ridley is good and another underrated back, Miller is simply better, and he’s also proven to be much more adept at working behind poor run blocking.

Although Ridley played better than the numbers looked, he still only averaged 3.6 yards per carry behind a Pats OL that really struggled at the beginning of the 2014 season.

The Dolphins lines in each of the past two seasons have been even worse, but that still shouldn’t deter the Dolphins from seriously considering a 220-pound back who has the burst to make up for his lack of pure speed (and has a 1,200-yard season on his resume).

Next: Should Dolphins sign Crabtree?

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