"Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was waving down the media during Wednesday's practice as if he were stranded on a desert island.

Sparano wanted to draw attention to his new practice participant, starting inside linebacker Channing Crowder, who has been sidelined by a groin injury since Aug. 17.

Crowder participated on a limited basis Wednesday after giving the groin a month to heal. While he could suffer a setback between now and Sunday night's home opener against the Jets, it's clear the Dolphins are excited about the prospects of getting this five-year starter back on the field.

"The stretch lines were a little quiet for a while. That changed today," Sparano said, referring to Crowder's gift of gab. "It's good see him running around out there and being involved. It's good for Channing. We'll see where we go, but there was good progress made today."

Tim Dobbins and Bobby Carpenter have been sharing Crowder's workload, but the duo has collectively contributed five tackles in the first two games.

In his first practice back, Crowder worked next to Karlos Dansby, with whom he was paired all offseason and during training camp."