Lamar Miller


Lamar N. Miller is an American football running back who is a free agent. Miller played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Early years

Miller attended Miami Killian Senior High School in Miami, Florida. While there, he played high school football for the Cougars. As a senior, he was a Parade All-American after rushing for 1,749 yards on 217 carries with 22 touchdowns.

College career

Miller decided to play for University of Miami rather than University of Florida to stay close to home, and to follow the footsteps of other former Hurricanes running backs. After he was redshirted in 2009, Miller saw his first game action in 2010. He played in 11 games with one start and rushed for 646 yards on 108 carries with six touchdowns. Miller took over as the Hurricanes starting running back in 2011. During the 2011 season, Miller rushed for 1,272 yards and nine touchdowns. He became the first Miami running back since Willis McGahee in the 2002 season to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.
Miller was also an All-ACC track performer at the University of Miami, where he ran the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Miller was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, 97th overall on April 28, 2012. On June 1, 2012, Miller signed a 4-year, $2.58 million contract, including a $480,000 signing bonus.

2012 season: Rookie year

As a rookie, Miller shared the backfield with Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. On September 16, he made his NFL debut running for 65 yards on a season-high 10 carries and a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. Miller ran in a 15-yard touchdown, his first career-touchdown. On December 23, Miller ran for a season-high 73 yards on 10 carries against the Buffalo Bills.
At the end of the 2012 season, Miller rushed for 250 yards and a touchdown averaging 4.9 yards per rush. Miller also caught 6 passes for 45 yards.

2013 season

After the departure of Reggie Bush, Miller became the main running back on the team and continued to share time with Daniel Thomas. On September 15, Miller ran for 69 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. He ran in a 10-yard touchdown, his second career touchdown. On September 22, Miller ran for 62 yards on eight carries against the Atlanta Falcons. He recorded a 49-yard run. On September 30, Miller ran for 62 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints. He ran in a 5-yard touchdown, his third career touchdown. On October 27, Miller ran for 89 yards on 18 carries against the New England Patriots. On October 31, Miller ran for a season-high 105 yards on 16 carries against the Cincinnati Bengals. His performance against the Bengals was his first 100-yard game of his career. On December 1, Miller ran for 72 yards on a season-high 22 carries against the New York Jets. On December 29, Miller ran for 73 yards on 17 carries in the second divisional game against the New York Jets.
At the end of the 2013 season, Miller ran rushed for 709 yards and two touchdowns averaging 4.0 yards per rush. He also caught 26 passes for 170 yards.

2014 season

Coming into the 2014 season, Miller was the main running back with a backfield that consisted of him, Thomas, Damien Williams, and Knowshon Moreno. On September 7, Miller ran for 59 yards on 11 carries and caught four passes for 19 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against the New England Patriots. He recorded a 4-yard receiving touchdown, the first touchdown of the season, and his first career reception for a touchdown. On September 21, Miller ran for 108 yards on 15 carries against the Kansas City Chiefs. He ran his first 100-yard game of the season. On September 28, Miller ran for 64 yards on 12 carries and a season-high two touchdowns against the Oakland Raiders. He ran in a 9-yard touchdown and a 1-yard touchdown, his second & third touchdown of the season. His three touchdowns broke a career-high, he scored two touchdowns in 2013. On October 12, Miller ran for 53 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers. He ran in a 5-yard touchdown, his fourth touchdown of the season. On October 19, Miller ran for 61 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. He ran in a 2-yard touchdown, his fifth touchdown of the season. On October 26, Miller ran for 78 yards on 14 carries against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On November 2, 2014, Miller ran for 49 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers. He ran in a 2-yard touchdown, his sixth touchdown of the season. On November 13, Miller ran for 86 yards on 15 carries against the Buffalo Bills. On December 1, Miller ran for 56 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown against the New York Jets. He ran in a 4-yard touchdown, his seventh touchdown of the season. On December 21, Miller ran for 92 yards on a season-high 19 carries and a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He also caught a season-high five passes for a season-high 58 yards. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his eighth touchdown of the season. On December 28, Miller ran for a season-high 178 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown against the New York Jets. He ran in a 97-yard touchdown, the longest run in franchise history. It was his ninth touchdown of the season. He ran his second 100-yard game of the season. He became the first Dolphins running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark since Reggie Bush in 2011.
At the end of the 2014 season, Miller rushed for 1,099 yards and eight touchdowns averaging 5.1 yards per rush. He also caught 38 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown. He was ranked 10th in rushing yards, only one of 13 players to break 1,000 yards rushing, just above Alfred Morris, Matt Forte, and Jamaal Charles. He was ranked eighth in rushing touchdowns, was one of 14 players to score eight touchdowns or more on the season.

2015 season

Going into the 2015 season, Miller remained as the Dolphins' feature back, Williams remained as depth, and Jay Ajayi and Jonas Gray were eventually added to the backfield. On October 18, Miller ran for 113 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans. He ran for his first 100-yard game of the season. He ran in a 7-yard touchdown, which was his first of the season. On October 25, Miller ran for a season-high 175 yards on 14 carries and a season-high 2 touchdowns against the Houston Texans. He ran for his second 100-yard game of the season. Miller recorded a 54-yard touchdown reception, his first receiving touchdown of the season. He ran in an 85-yard rushing touchdown, his second rushing touchdown of the season. He rushed for more than 100 yards in consecutive games for the first time in his career. On October 29, Miller ran for 15 yards on nine carries and a touchdown against the New England Patriots. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his fourth touchdown of the season. On November 8, Miller ran for 44 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills. He ran in two 1-yard touchdowns, his fifth & sixth touchdown of the season. On November 15, Miller ran for 43 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. He recorded a 13-yard receiving touchdown, his seventh touchdown of the season. Miller recorded a 35-yard reception. On December 6, Miller ran for 113 yards on a season-high 20 carries against the Baltimore Ravens. He ran for his third 100-yard game of the season. On December 14, Miller ran for 89 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns against the New York Giants. He ran in a 14-yard touchdown and a 38-yard touchdown, his eighth & ninth touchdown of the season. On December 27, Miller ran for 31 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his 10th touchdown of the season. His ten touchdowns break a career-high, he recorded nine touchdowns in 2014.
At the end of the 2015 season, Miller rushed for 872 yards and eight touchdowns averaging 4.5 yards per rush. He also caught 47 passes for a career-high 397 yards and two touchdowns. He was ranked 13th in rushing yards, only one of 17 players to break 800 rushing yards, just above Ronnie Hillman, Rashad Jennings, Thomas Rawls, and Chris Johnson. He was ranked seventh in rushing touchdowns, only one of eight players to score eight touchdowns or more on the season, tied with David Johnson.

Houston Texans

On March 9, 2016, Miller signed a four-year deal with the Houston Texans worth $26 million with $14 million guaranteed. This contract was the sixth highest among running backs.

2016 season

On September 11, Miller ran for 106 yards on a season-high 28 carries in the season opener against the Chicago Bears. His 28 carries is a career-high, breaking his previous record of 22 in 2013. His 15 carries in the first half also marked the most he's ever had in a half of a game in his career. He ran his first 100-yard game of the season. On September 18, Miller ran for 83 yards on 25 carries against the Kansas City Chiefs. On September 22, Miller ran for 80 yards on 21 carries against the New England Patriots. On October 2, Miller ran for 82 yards on 19 carries against the Tennessee Titans. On October 16, Miller ran for a season-high 149 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts. He ran his second 100-yard game of the season. He recorded a receiving touchdown, a 10-yard reception. He also ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his first touchdown of the season. On October 30, Miller ran for 56 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his third touchdown of the season. On November 13, Miller ran for 83 yards on 15 carries against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On November 21, Miller ran for 104 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. He ran his third 100-yard game of the season. He ran in a 1-yard touchdown, his fourth touchdown of the season. Miller recorded a 33-yard run. On December 11, Miller ran for 107 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown in the second divisional game against the Indianapolis Colts. He ran his fourth 100-yard game of the season. He ran in a 2-yard touchdown, his fifth touchdown of the season. Miller eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season, the second time in his NFL career he accomplished the feat. His 4.0 yards per carry tied a career-low and his 4.3 yards per touch ranked No. 57 among NFL running backs in 2016.
The Texans qualified for the playoffs in the 2016 season. In the against the Oakland Raiders, Miller had 31 carries for 73 yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–14 victory. In the against the New England Patriots, he finished with 19 carries for 74 yards and four receptions for 15 yards in the 34–16 loss.

2017 season

In the 2017 season, Miller put together some solid statistics but the performance of the team faltered with numerous injuries occurring. In the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 65 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards as the Texans fell 29–7. In the next game, a 13–9 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, he had 61 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards. On September 24, in a 36–33 loss to the New England Patriots, he finished with 56 rushing yards and seven receiving yards. In the next game, a 57–14 victory over the Tennessee Titans, he had his best statistical game of the season with 75 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, four receptions, 56 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. On October 8, against the Kansas City Chiefs, he finished with 74 rushing yards and 15 receiving yards in the 42–34 loss. In the next game, a 33–17 victory over the Cleveland Browns, he finished with 41 rushing yards and 40 receiving yards. Two weeks later, against the Seattle Seahawks, he had 54 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, three receptions, 19 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown in the 41–38 loss. On November 2, starting quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL in practice after the loss to the Seahawks. During Week 9, the Texans played the Indianapolis Colts next and lost 20–14 as Miller had 57 rushing yards and 34 receiving yards. In the following game, a 33–7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, he finished with 60 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards. A week later, against the Arizona Cardinals, he had 61 rushing yards, 22 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown in the 31–21 win. In a Week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he finished with 51 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, which would be his last time finding the endzone in the 2017 season. In the next game, the second divisional matchup against the Tennessee Titans, he finished with 56 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards in the 24–13 loss. In the next game, a 26–16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he finished with 53 rushing yards on 17 carries. In Week 15, a 45–7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was held to a season-low 32 rushing yards. On Christmas Day, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he finished with 55 rushing yards and ten receiving yards in the 34–6 loss. In the season finale, against the Indianapolis Colts, he finished with 37 rushing yards and was held without a reception for the only time all season. Overall, in the 2017 season, Miller finished with 888 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 36 receptions, 327 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

2018 season

In the season opener against the New England Patriots, Miller ran for 98 yards and caught a pass for 11 yards in the 20–27 loss. On September 23, Miller scored his first touchdown of the season, bringing in a touchdown catch on the final play of the game against the New York Giants. On October 21, Miller rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This touchdown was his eighth touchdown on the ground as a Texan, moving past quarterback David Carr into seventh-most in franchise history. The next week, Miller rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins, included as well was a 58-yard run. His back-to-back 100-yard games were his first time as a Texan, the last time this was accomplished by a Texan was by Arian Foster in 2014. After this game, Foster surpassed 100 yards for the sixth time as a Texan, passing Steve Slaton, Ben Tate, and teammate Alfred Blue into third most in franchise history. After running up 86 yards against the Washington Redskins, he would follow that game with 162 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans, including a 97-yard touchdown run. His touchdown run is the longest play in franchise history, and was the longest touchdown run in the NFL since he did it in 2014, becoming the only player in NFL history with two touchdown runs over 95 yards in a career. Overall, Miller finished the 2018 season with 973 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions, 163 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. The Texans finished atop the AFC South and earned the #3-seed for the AFC Playoffs. In the against the Indianapolis Colts, he had eight receptions for 63 yards in the 21–7 loss. He also rushed for 18 yards on five carries.

2019 season

During the team's third preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, Miller tore his ACL, prematurely ending his season. He was placed on injured reserve on August 26, 2019.

NFL statistics

Regular season

Postseason

NFL records