SEATTLE _ The Miami Dolphins won't have starting center Mike Pouncey for Sunday's season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, and the team's Pro Bowl center might be sidelined for a couple more games.
Pouncey has been sitting out practice for the past three weeks because of a left hip injury he suffered in the Dallas preseason game, and according to ESPN he's nursing a small fracture in the hip.
ESPN claims Pouncey is scheduled to undergo a CT scan this week, and could miss another two weeks, depending on the results of that test.
Pouncey had surgery on the right side of his hip, and missed the first four games of the 2014 season because of a hip procedure.
Anthony Steen, a former University of Alabama guard, will be making his first NFL start as Pouncey's replacement Sunday. The Dolphins moved Steen to center during training camp and his snapping has been steady.
Steen said the toughest challenge of replacing Pouncey is making sure he makes the appropriate offensive line adjustments since the calls at the line of scrimmage are his responsibility.
"I'm trying to stay focused, watching film, making sure I know what I'm doing more than anything," said Steen, who said he's leaning on Pouncey, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and 10-year veteran Jermon Bushrod, the Dolphins' starting right guard, to speed up his learning curve. "The mental part is just getting in shape. It's all about who wants it more."
