Miami’s slim playoff hopes took a major blow earlier today, after the team was forced to place RB Ronnie Brown on the injured reserve list, ending his 2010 campaign near the halfway mark.

Brown suffered an undisclosed injury to his foot during last Sunday’s win against Tampa Bay, and while the Dolphins were hopeful he could recover fairly soon, word came down from the team’s medical staff that ran counter to what they initially believed. Miami will now turn to 32 year old RB Ricky Williams, who by all accounts seems to be rejuvenated and healthy enough to carry the load on his own from here on out.

Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano was fairly non-committal when asked about the continued use of the Wildcat formation, in which Brown was the featured player, saying the team may scrap it all together at this point. Sparano also indicated that Brown will seek a specialist’s opinion before deciding on any course of action to remedy the injury.