In some late-breaking news this evening, it seems as though Dolphins rookie defensive lineman Jared Odrick will miss the remainder of the season with a broken leg.
NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reported this evening that Odrick's injury "appears to be season ending and the Dolphins are likely to place him on IR." La Canfora adds that Odrick "returned to practice last week" but was "hurt again in practice today."
The Palm Beach Post, via Ben Volin's Twitter account, confirmed the story a little while ago. Edgar Thompson of the Post then posted a blog entry that states:
Dolphins’ defensive end Jared Odrick broke his leg during Wednesday’s practice and is out indefinitely, likely the rest of his rookie season, an NFL source said.
Odrick, the team’s first-round pick,, was hoping to return to the field this week after he’d missed more than a month with a hairline fracture of his right fibula suffered during the team’s Sept. 12 opener at Buffalo.
It uncertain whether Odrick, 22, re-aggravated his previous injury or suffered a new injury.
Odrick's rookie season began with loads of potential. He won a starting job as the defensive end opposite Kendall Langford in Miami's 3-4 defense. But the 2010 first round pick injured his leg during the season opener in Buffalo and hasn't played since. He had been practicing again since last week but it looks as though his promising rookie season will end with disappointment.
This means that Randy Starks will likely see more time at defensive end than the team originally planned for him to see. Paul Soliai, meanwhile, will see more playing time at nose tackle when Starks slides to end. This does give Tony McDaniel, a free agent at the end of the season, a huge opportunity to earn some money as his playing time will take a huge jump now that Odrick's season has come to an end.