Duce Done for the Year

After a week of speculation about just how serious his right foot injury was, Philadelphia Eagles running back Duce Staley had surgery Tuesday in Columbia, S.C. and was placed on the injured reserve list, ending his 2000 season.

Staley injured his right foot in a 38-10 victory Oct. 1 over the Atlanta Falcons, and for a week speculation surrounding the injury ranged from Staley missing four to six weeks of action to missing the rest of the year.

The Eagles received the worst-case scenario news late Tuesday afternoon and then signed veteran running back Amp Lee to replace Staley on the active roster.

"We expect Duce to have a full recovery and be ready to go for the 2001 season," head coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "His loss puts us in a situation where we needed to add another running back to the roster and we chose to bring in a proven veteran in Amp Lee. Amp has been a quality running back in the NFL, not only as a third-down back, but when he has been used in normal situations as well."

Staley opened the 2000 season with a 201-yard effort in a 41-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but had been slowed since that game. In five games, Staley gained 344 yards on 79 carries.

Prior to last Sunday`s game against the Washington Redskins, a 17-14 Eagles loss, Staley had played in all 53 games since he was a second-round draft pick by the Eagles in 1997 and had started 29 straight contests.

His loss is a big blow to the offense. Staley had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons and had accounted for nearly 45 percent of the offense prior to his injury.

It is expected that Brian Mitchell, Darnell Autry, Stanley Pritchett and now Lee will attempt to fill the void created by Staley`s absence. Lee is entering his ninth NFL season after being a second-round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers in 1992. After two years with the Niners, Lee spent the next three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

Lee was most recently a member of the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams (1997-99). Lee has played in 113 career games (14 starts) and rushed 387 times for 1,510 yards and seven touchdowns, while catching 334 passes for 3,079 yards and 15 touchdowns.

(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: AP