Confirmed: Dolphins RB Brown will not play against Panthers Thursday night

As the Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown has been ruled out for Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers, his injured right foot also made his status for the rest of the regular season uncertain.

According to Coach Tony Sparano, the team’s leader rusher needed to see a specialist for further evaluation, and it is hard to say when he could wear back his Dolphins jersey. Ricky Williams will start at running back in Brown’s absence. Then the Thursday’s game will be Brown’s first missed game since his season-ending knee injury in 2007, and Williams’ first start for this season.

And 32-year-old Williams is the right replacement to Brown, as the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner and 2002 NFL rushing champion has rushed for 558 yards and is averaging a career-best 5.3 yards per carry. Also, he is confident that he will do the starting job well on Thursday.