Drake will come off the bench in Sunday's game against the Ravens with the Dolphins announcing Ballage as their starting running back for the season opener, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com reports.
At least for Week 1, coach Brian Flores will deviate from the Dolphins' initial depth chart, which lists Drake as the top back. While Drake missed a good portion of the preseason with a foot injury, Ballage saw the bulk of the backfield snaps but averaged a meager 2.2 yards per carry during the exhibition slate. Drake was able to turn in a healthy week of practices leading up to the season opener, so it's still expected that he'll handle a sizable workload Sunday, despite not being listed as the starter. Look for the Dolphins to deploy a timeshare between the two running backs.