Phillip Merling Sidelined with Injury all Year

As it has been well documented in the media, the Miami Dolphins have only two remaining unsigned draft picks from their sterling 2010 class, one of which is their first-round selection Jared Odrick. And while we have written of other rookies that might make an immediate impact on the field for the Fins this year, including John Jerry (third round) and Reshad Jones (fifth round), Odrick may have received an unexpected boost to his playing time this upcoming season with the news this weekend that defensive end Phillp Merling will be sidelined for the entire year with a serious achilles tendon injury.

Merling was working out in preparation of the team's training camp start this week when he was dealt the season-ending injury. In most of the team's offseason workouts, he has recieved the majority of the squad's first-team snaps and was expected to compete with Odrick for the starting position, which was open for grabs when the team moved Randy Starks to nose tackle back in the spring. Last season, Merling had 33 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 16 games with two starts.

But just as quickly as Merling went down, the Fins made a counter move - or as they say, one man's loss is another's treasure - by signing veteran defensive end Marques Douglas to a two-year deal. Douglas may be new to South Florida, but he certainly isn't unfamiliar to new Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan; Nolan coached Douglas with the Ravens for three years from 2001 to 2004 and then Douglas moved right along with Nolan when he became head coach of the 49ers in 2005. He also has a lot of familiarity with the Fins' 3-4 defensive scheme, as he was an anchor in that same system in San Francisco, and he has the size the Dolphins were looking for in that 3-4 set-up.

The signing of Douglas, who has 11 years under his NFL belt, doesn't change much in terms of Miami's plans for Odrick, however. They still expect the young fella to step right in at the right defensive end slot alongside Kendall Langford on the left end.

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