Dolphins Give Phillips The Boot

Troubled running back Lawrence Phillips is out of work after being released Saturday by the Miami Dolphins.

Dolphins head coach and general manager Jimmy Johnson said Phillips was let go due to his low position on the depth chart and not because of his frequent problems off the field. Phillips reportedly endured a bad practice Friday and then cleaned out his locker and dorm room.

Early in camp, first-round draft choice John Avery has been impressive, as has last year's starter, Karim Abdul-Jabbar.

Phillips has been involved in a series of off-the-field incidents while in college at Nebraska and then with the St. Louis Rams and Miami.

Earlier this summer, a woman filed a complaint against Phillips in Plantation, Florida, claiming the running back punched her in the face after she refused to dance with him. Johnson backed Phillips after the incident.

Miami signed Phillips to a two-year contract through the 1998 season on Dec. 2 after he was released by the Rams. Phillips was the Rams' leading rusher with 633 yards.

Phillips was a collegiate star but in 1995 pleaded no contest to charges of trespassing and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. He was sentenced to one year probation and was ordered to undergo anger counseling. The probation was revoked in June 1996 and Phillips was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he was arrested and charged with drunken driving.

Despite his problems, St. Louis selected Phillips with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 draft and signed him to a three-year, $5.6 million contract that did not include a signing bonus, unheard of for a high first-round pick. But head coach Dick Vermeil gew weary after Phillips missed numerous practices and eventually decided to release him.

Phillips was an integral part of Nebraska's consecutive national championships in 1994 and 1995.

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