DAVIE, Fla. — Miami Dolphins nose tackle Jason
Ferguson will miss the rest of the season with a quadriceps injury, coach Tony
Sparano said Monday.
Sparano said he was unsure if Ferguson, who turns 35 on
Saturday, will need surgery. He declined to elaborate on the specifics of the
injury.
"We lost a heck of a player and another captain and those
types of things," Sparano said. "It is happening every place you look around the
league right now. That is what happens. It is Week 12. These guys understand and
we have prepared for these things, so we will be prepared."
Ferguson has been in on 23 tackles in nine games for the
Dolphins (5-5) this season. Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown (foot) and
quarterback Chad Pennington (shoulder) have also suffered season-ending injuries
this year.
"It's the nature of this game, though," left guard Justin
Smiley said. "Sometimes you have to close ranks and march on. We're prepared to
do that."
The Dolphins, who have propelled themselves back into the
playoff mix with two straight wins and five in seven games, face the Bills (3-7)
on Sunday, then meet the Patriots on Dec. 6.
"Those two are no cakewalk," Smiley said. "We've got
Buffalo, whose hungry for a win, and those guys should have won the game last
week. Obviously, everybody knows about the Patriots. … We've got our work cut
out for us."
Dolphins backup nose tackle Paul Soliai has been nursing
an ankle injury, and the other likely candidates to fill in for Ferguson are
Tony McDaniel and defensive end Randy Starks.
"We had a situation where [Ferguson] wasn't in there
before, had to play with some of these other guys in his place and they have
done a good job," Sparano said. "I told the team that this morning. We have had
some bumps, but the guys have responded really well. The guys who have gone in
at different positions throughout the course of the season have done a great
job."
Ferguson wasn't the only Dolphins player to leave
Miami's 24-17 win over Carolina on Thursday banged up. Four offensive linemen
left with injuries, and the Dolphins used three centers, including one moved
from tackle who had not practiced snaps. When asked about one of the other
injured players, Sparano said he would have updates later in the week.
"Nobody is going to feel sorry for you and if you start
feeling sorry for yourself you are going to be on the wrong end of a real good
butt-kicking," Sparano said of moving past the injuries. "We are not going to do
that. We are going to get ourselves ready to go and go down there, try to win a
division game, which is all our focus is about right now."