ESPN NFL

With their tailback depth chart dented by the season-ending knee injury suffered by starter Ronnie Brown last Sunday, the Miami Dolphins have claimed third-year veteran Samkon Gado on waivers from the Houston Texans.

Gado, 24, was released by the Texans on Tuesday afternoon.

Because Gado could not file the proper paperwork in time to travel to London for Miami's game there against the New York Giants on Sunday, the Dolphins were granted a one-week roster exemption. Gado will not join the team for practices until next week, when the club returns from London and has a few workouts before its bye week.

With Brown on injured reserve after sustaining a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, fifth-year veteran Jesse Chatman becomes the starter. He will be backed up by second-year veteran Patrick Cobbs and rookie Lorenzo Booker.

Chatman, 28, has only 99 career carries for 545 yards and four touchdowns.

Because of the inexperience in the Miami backfield, Gado will actually be the most proven tailback on the roster. He has appeared in 20 games and rushed for 838 yards and eight touchdowns on 217 carries.

A native of Nigeria whose family relocated to Columbia, S.C., when he was young, Gado played at Division I-AA Liberty University and made the Green Bay Packers roster as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Injuries forced him into the starting lineup that season, and he rushed for 582 yards and six touchdowns on 143 attempts.

After only one game in 2006, he was traded to Houston for tailback Vernand Morency. He appeared in eight games with the Texans in 2006 and rushed for 217 yards and one score. Gado played in three games for the Texans this season, carrying 18 times for 46 yards and one touchdown, before being waived.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.