"After taking Wednesday's practice off to rehabilitate a sprained right ankle, Dolphins rookie left tackle Jake Long was back on the field today working in team drills.

Long, who sprained the ankle during the third quarter of last Sunday's loss to the Patriots, seems on track to play Sunday against the St. Louis Rams.

"It says an awful lot about his toughness,'' Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Wednesday about Long returning in the fourth quarter Sunday. "What's nice to see is things weren't going our way and you had a young player you think an awful lot about trying to find a way to get back into that game instead of trying to find ways to get out of the game.''

Curiously, backup tackle Kirk Barton, a member of the practice squad, was not present at practice during the 20-minute media viewing period. If Long has a setback of any kind, look for right guard Ike Ndukwe to slide over, and Andy Alleman to fill his spot. Also, reserve tackle Nate Garner could be given some snaps as well. Garner has been inactive for all 11 games this season."