Mark

Walton

Walton hasn’t appeared in a game since getting waived by the Dolphins last November. His latest suspension will keep him out of the league for the rest of this season. Walton made four starts for Miami last year and is only 23, but he’s a longshot to resurface.

Walton was accused of punching his pregnant girlfriend “several times in the face and head” back in November after discovering he was the father. He was arrested five times on separate charges in a span of 12 months dating back to February when he got into a verbal dispute with the mother of his child. (No clue if it’s the same woman.) A real upstanding citizen -- sarcasm font -- Walton was cut by the Dolphins after the November incident and shouldn’t be getting any phone calls anytime soon, or ever again, from NFL teams.

Per the police report, there was “no physical contact between Walton and the woman.” The arrest is Walton’s fifth in the past 12 months. Walton has been previously accused of “punching his five-week pregnant girlfriend several times in the face and head.” Although he is only 22 years old, Walton’s NFL career is over.

Walton is accused of punching his five-week pregnant girlfriend “several times in the face and head” 24 hours after discovering he was the father. He was arrested Tuesday morning in South Florida and promptly waived by the Dolphins. It’s Walton’s fourth arrest in the past year following his three violations this offseason. It would obviously spell the end of Walton’s career if the allegations are proved to be true.

“We were made aware of a police matter earlier this morning regarding Walton,” GM Chris Grier released in a statement. “We hold our players to a high standard and take these matters very seriously. We will have no further comment at this time.” Walton’s currently suspended until Week 14 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy stemming from his three offseason arrests, but this developing incident obviously violates his zero-tolerance second chance. Already with four blemishes on his young resume, it’ll be surprising if Walton latches on elsewhere anytime soon. Kalen Ballage will continue falling down as Miami’s lead back.

The suspension is related to Walton’s three offseason arrests. He’s worked as the Dolphins’ featured back ever since the team traded Kenyan Drake to the Cardinals. Miami is expected to move forward with Kalen Ballage as their three-down back. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if they add to the position. The Dolphins could also utilize backup RBs Patrick Laird or Myles Gaskin, although neither has a touch this season.

Walton broke off a 14-yard scamper for his longest run of the day early in the third quarter but was otherwise held in check. He’s been operating as the Dolphins’ clear workhorse, out-touching fellow sophomore Kalen Ballage in two games since Kenyan Drake’s trade to Arizona. Still, Walton has yet to score a touchdown in his 21 NFL appearances and probably won’t see a ton of scoring opportunities down the stretch while playing for one of the league’s worst offenses. Walton gets the Colts in Indy next week.

He added three catches for 19 yards on six targets but also lost a horrible fumble in Pittsburgh territory when he had the ball poked out from behind. Walton has averaged 13.3 touches per game in his three weeks as the starter but has yet to find the end zone. He should see 12-18 touches next week in a winnable game at home against the Jets where Walton will be an RB3/FLEX.

Walton was already starting over Drake, but he had been in a near-even timeshare, playing 52 percent of snaps last week. He’s now headed for a full-time role, with a plodding Kalen Ballage mixing in on short-yardage and red-zone situations. Drake’s departure is a boost to Walton’s ROS outlook. The Dolphins gamescripts will always be against Walton, but he should have RB3 value down the stretch.

That obviously means Drake is not expected to play this week. The Dolphins are in serious trade conversations and it would be a surprise if Drake played another snap for Miami. There are quite a few teams rumored to be interested, but we likely won’t find out where he lands until Monday or Tuesday. Mark Walton will be the primary back for the Dolphins against the Steelers’ top-end defensive line.