Dolphins lose linebacker for Bills
The Dolphins will be without two contributing linebackers Sunday against the Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Elandon Roberts, on injured reserve with a knee injury, was expected to miss the game. Kamu Grugier-Hill, left in South Florida on Saturday with a last-minute, non-COVID-19 illness, was not.
Grugier-Hill is one of the Dolphins’ top special teams contributors, logging 234 snaps in the kick game this year, but was in line for a larger role on defense with Roberts out.
Instead, the Dolphins will probably turn to Sam Eguavoen and Calvin Munson if they get in a jam Sunday.
Grugier-Hill’s regular season ends after 28 defensive tackles in 15 appearances, including one start. His illness came on late in the week; he practiced fully Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins seem to be holding out at least a bit of hope for the four players listed as questionable on their final injury report. Wide receivers Jakeem Grant (ankle) and DeVante Parker (hamstring), guard Solomon Kindley (knee/foot) and defensive end Shaq Lawson (shoulder) all made the trip to Western New York.
Of the four, Grant seems the least likely to play Sunday against the Bills. He is dealing with a high-ankle sprain suffered last Saturday.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick tested positive for COVID-19 and is out this week, but it does not appear as though the team had an outbreak. Tua Tagovailoa made the trip and appears on track to start. Tagovailoa will be one of three quarterbacks available to the Dolphins Sunday.
The others: Jake Rudock, who signed to the active roster this week, and Reid Sinnett, whom the team elevated to the 53man roster from the practice squad Saturday.
The Dolphins also called up wide receiver Marcus Kemp and safety Nate Holley from the practice squad Saturday.
They waived fullback Chandler Cox, a seventhround pick in 2019, to make room.
— ADAM H. BEASLEY
HALL OF FAMER
FLOYD LITTLE DIES
Floyd Little, the Hall of Fame running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, has died. He was 78.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame said he died Friday night. No cause was given.
Little was a three-time All-American at Syracuse, where he wore No. 44 like Jim Brown and Ernie Davis before him. From 1964-66, he ran for 2,704 yards and 46 touchdowns.
A native of New Haven, Connecticut, he was the sixth overall pick in the 1967 AFL-NFL draft. He played nine seasons in
Denver, where he earned the nickname “The Franchise” because his signing was credited with keeping the team from relocating and helped persuade voters to approve funds for the old, iconic Mile High Stadium, which has since been replaced by Empower Field at Mile High.
“I know when I got there the talk was about the team moving to Chicago or Birmingham,” Little told The Associated Press in an interview in 2009. “So, I supposedly saved the franchise, and I think [former team spokesman] Jim Saccomano gave me that nickname. It’s been a part of my name ever since.”
Little was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Little led the NFL in rushing in 1971 with 1,133 yards and in touchdown runs in 1973 with 12. He also was one of the league’s best kick returners, leading the AFL in punt returns as a rookie in 1967.
During his nine-year pro career, Little rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns and caught 215 passes for 2,418 yards and nine TDs. He had the most all-purpose yards in pro football and ranked second only to O.J. Simpson in yards rushing over his career.
After a three-decade wait, Little made it into Canton in 2010. He told the AP when he was nominated by the Hall’s senior committee that he had given up hope of ever making it into the Hall of
Fame.
He was never forgotten in Denver, where the late team owner Pat Bowlen once hailed Little’s “immeasurable contributions to this franchise and the NFL.”
ELSEWHERE
Browns: Down at least five players and three assistant coaches, Clevelandwill try become a playoff team again. Unable to practice most of the week due to COVID-19 cases and protocols, the Browns said Saturday that offensive line coach Bill Callahan and assistant line coach Scott Peters will both miss Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers as Cleveland tries to lock up its first postseason berth since 2002. On Friday, the team said wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea will also miss the dramatic regular-season finale after he tested positive. He’ll be replaced by chief of staff Callie Brownson, who earlier this season became the first female to handle ingame sideline coaching duties in an NFL game.
Steelers: Pittsburgh placed cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Eric Ebron and reserve linebacker Cassius Marsh on the reserve/COVID-19 list, putting the players’ status for the playoffs in jeopardy. The move also leaves the AFC North champions further depleted for their regular-season finale in Cleveland on Sunday