The spotty history of the Dolphins' first-round draft picks being what it is, many fans had to be thinking "here we go again" when then-rookie defensive end Jared Odrick broke his right fibula in last season's opener.
It's not as though the mishap at Buffalo could be easily dismissed - he suffered the same injury while at Penn State. And when Odrick broke his left foot in Dolphins practice while preparing to return to the lineup in October, more questions were raised.
"It was all pretty upsetting," Odrick said. "But it's in the past now. I'm focusing on staying healthy and producing."
Odrick, 6-foot-5 and 304 pounds, might have been one of the few players helped by the NFL lockout. With no mini-camp or official practices, he took plenty of time to heal.
"Just watching him run, I feel the injury is behind him," coach Tony Sparano said. "We've had a long enough period of time, with no urgency to come back fast, where we should have a good feeling about where it is."
Odrick, who was selected 28th overall, said that although he played less than one game, he still benefited from his rookie year.
"I learned a lot, not so much in the locker room but in the building in general," he said. "It was a struggle, but from watching the veterans I now make sure everything is right with my body before practice, so nothing goes wrong.
