Are Ben Tate & Legarrette Blount Miami Dolphins Options?

The Miami Dolphins lack depth at running back. Damien Williams has been serviceable behind Lamar Miller but Daniel Thomas has not shown enough to provide a solid answer. While the Dolphins have LaMichael James now on the 53 man roster they have very little outside of those two to back up their featured running back.

Today the Pittsburgh Steelers released back-up running back Legarrette Blount and the Cleveland Browns released one time starter Ben Tate. Could either of them be options for the Miami Dolphins? Possible but not likely.

The Dolphins might want to take a look at both runners who are subject to the leagues waiver rules but both backs come with more luggage than the Dolphins are likely wanting to carry. Consider that both releases came after each RB expressed a desire to leave their team.

In Cleveland, Tate told media that the he didn’t join the Browns to be a back-up or play in a rotation but in Miami he would do exactly that. While is likely to get more touches in South Florida than chilly North Ohio, he would still be a player asked to play a role on a team trying to make the playoffs and he has already spurned that option on another playoff contending team.

Occasionally we hear of a disgruntled player asking for his release and getting it but it’s not common for two players on two different teams to get the same with on the same day. That is exactly what happened today when Pittsburgh opted to release Blount. Blount has been critical of the team and his playing time behind Le’Veon Bell and many in the Steeler locker room have been asking the team to release him. He has been referred to as a locker room cancer. On Monday night in a close game, Blount decided late in the game that he had enough. After not receiving a single carry in the game he left the field prior to the game being over.

There is no question that both players could help the Dolphins with their depth  issues but would either player come to Miami wanting to give 100% in the face of playing a support role? The answer is likely yes, at first, but when the season progresses and they see playing time diminish would they begin to pout and disrupt the locker room as the post-season approaches?

To be quite honest I’m not sure either player is really worth the risk. The Dolphins do not have the strong internal structure offensively that other teams do. While Cleveland doesn’t have the veteran leadership offensively that say Indianapolis does, Pittsburgh has a strong core of veterans that should have been able to deal with single player character issues. And they couldn’t.

If I’m Dennis Hickey I would have to give some serious thought to adding one of the two via waivers but when it actually came down to it I’m not convinced I would pull that trigger but if I was, I would definitely lean towards Tate.