Philadelphia Eagles sign RB Ronnie Brown

Ronnie Brown had held out hope that he’d be back in South Florida, back with the Miami Dolphins – the only team he’d known since entering the NFL in 2005. But Brown on Tuesday signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

The team announced the move on its Twitter page.

Whenever Brown, who’d been a free agent, talked about his future during the past several months he made clear his desire to return to the Dolphins, who selected him second overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. Brown said he’d built a life in South Florida. He said he was happy here.

The Dolphins, though, made equally clear they were headed in a different direction. They drafted former Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas in the second round of the draft in April. Then, just before its first practice of the season, Miami acquired Reggie Bush from New Orleans.

In six seasons with the Dolphins, Brown ran for 4,815 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He broke the 1,000-yard mark once, in 2006, when he ran for 1,008 yards and 5 touchdowns. He ran for 10 touchdowns in ’08.

Brown played in 76 games for the Dolphins, starting 71 of them.

Ricky Williams, Brown’s running mate in the backfield for the past several seasons, remains a free agent. His return to the Dolphins is unlikely.