According to a report by the Miami Herald, Dolphins’ running back Ronnie Brown was arrested in Atlanta late Friday night on suspicion of DUI.

Brown, who has no previous arrest record, was arrested after an officer pulled him over for making a lane change without signaling, sources said.

The Dolphins are aware of the situation, and they are continuing to monitor the legal process. They are not believed to be overly upset with Brown because of his impeccable past as a player and a citizen.

Brown is distraught over the arrest, and he has hired an attorney to help defend him in the case, the sources said. He did not perform well during the field-sobriety test, which contributed to the officer’s decision to arrest Brown, sources said. It remains possible the charges soon could be reduced to a traffic violation in the coming days. The arresting officer’s detailed version of the arrest has not yet been obtained because it occurred during the weekend. Brown’s agent, Todd France, did not return messages Sunday to comment on the arrest.

Is it just me or does Atlanta seem like the hotspot for NFL players to get into trouble off the field? Ben Roethlisberger, Ray Lewis, Brandon Marshall and now Brown all have had issues in the city and while I’m not positive, I’m sure Pacman Jones has gotten into trouble there too. I just don’t have time to go through his rap sheet right now.

It’s interesting that Brown hired a lawyer to defend him in this case. Does that mean that he feels that the DUI was bogus and the police officer had it in for him? Or does he know the DUI is legit and he’s just trying to get a lighter penalty? He had no prior incidents before the arrest and he was originally pulled over for making an improper lane change, so who knows. All the report says is that “he did not perform well during the field-sobriety test.” Does that mean he was over the legal limit? I guess we’ll find out soon.

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Last week, several teams’ playoff hopes took major hits as key players all left their respective games due to various injuries.

The Broncos (Kyle Orton), Falcons (Michael Turner), Dolphins (Ronnie Brown) and Bengals (Cedric Benson) seem to be bitten he hardest by the injury bug but which injury should concern their respective teams the most? Let’s break down all four situations.

Broncos: Without Orton, Denver stands little chance of beating the Chargers at home this Sunday and even less of a chance of winning the AFC West. Orton isn’t Peyton Manning, but he might as well be the Broncos’ version of the star Colts’ QB because Chris Simms proved last week that he isn’t capable of keeping Denver afloat if Orton misses significant time. Now maybe with more preparation Simms will be better, but chances are the Broncos’ hopes of making the playoffs will fall flat with him under center. Orton says that he will play this weekend, even though he has torn ligaments in his left ankle. He admitted last year that he shouldn’t have tried to grit out a right ankle injury when he was playing for the Bears, so there’s a chance that he’s about to make the same mistake twice. This Sunday will be a good indication of how severe Orton’s injury really is.

Falcons: After getting off to a slow start, Turner was back in 2008 form the past couple weeks and even compiled 111 yards on only nine carries against the Panthers last Sunday before suffering a high ankle sprain. Usually those types of injuries take months to heel, but the Falcons don’t seem concerned about Turner missing more than a couple of weeks. The problem is that the Falcons are in the midst of a Wild Card chase in the NFC and they need their bruising back on the field – especially as Matt Ryan continues to struggle in his second year. Atlanta has capable backups in Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood, but the latter can’t stay healthy and the former doesn’t have much experience. If Ryan can step up and prove he can lead the Falcons through the air, then Turner can rest up and be ready in time for a late-season run. If Ryan falters again like he has been, then Turner might feel the need to rush back from his injury sooner than he (or the team) intends.

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ProFootballTalk.com reports that Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown could miss the remainder of the season after suffering a foot injury in Miami’s win over the Buccaneers last Sunday.

The Dolphins have not publicly acknowledged that the team fears Brown will miss the remainder of the season.

Per a league source, the current thinking is that Brown will not be able to play again this year. Of course, this could change based upon the advice of the specialist that Brown eventually sees and the success of rehab efforts.

The challenge for the Dolphins will be to decide whether to carry Brown on the roster in the hopes he can return, or to send him to injured reserve and create a roster spot.

PFT.com is hit and miss with its reporting, so take this news with a grain of salt. The site rarely (if ever) reveals its sources, so so nobody knows if its writers are talking to general managers or their imaginary friends.

Still, it’s not unrealistic to think that Brown is out for the year given how concerned the Dolphins were about his injury following Sunday’s win. If he is done, it would be a devastating blow to a team that was already facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs with him in the lineup.

Ricky Williams would shoulder the main running back duties for Miami in Brown’s absence. Williams has been solid this season, but how much of that is because he splits time with Brown? There’s a likely chance that Williams will start to wear down if the Dolphins can’t find a decent replacement for Brown.

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