MIAMI — Former Miami Dolphins receiver O.J. McDuffie is suing former and current team doctors for malpractice and gross negligence in the treatment of his 1999 big toe injury.

        Lawyers for McDuffie filed a complaint Friday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court naming former Dolphins team physician John Uribe, current team physician Dan Kanell and radiologist Michael Thorpe.

        Herman Russomano, McDuffie's lead attorney, said he expects to ask for a “multimillion-dollar” settlement in the case for a “betrayal of trust.”

        “O.J. had a relationship with the team physicians and believed they were giving him the best information,” Russomano said.

        Telephone calls to Uribe's and Thorpe's offices at HealthSouth Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables and Kanell's office at Fort Lauderdale's Holy Cross Hospital weren't returned Saturday.

        Kanell and Thorpe declined comment Friday to the Miami Herald.

        The team had no immediate comment, Dolphins spokesman Neal Gulkis said Saturday.

        Released by the Dolphins on Feb. 28 after nine years with the team, McDuffie contends the injury worsened when he continued to play with it in 1999. He claims an MRI showed the injury was serious, but the Dolphins told him the exam was inconclusive.

        He has had three surgeries on the toe since 1999 but said in March that he still has pain.

        Uribe told McDuffie he would have a “complete recovery” and “heal without incident,” according to a report cited in a complaint.

        The complaint said Uribe cleared McDuffie to play and injected him multiple times with anesthetics, such as cortisone, to dull the pain from the muscle and tendon injuries.

        McDuffie did not play last season and was limited to nine games and 14 catches in 2000. He has 415 career catches — fourth all-time on the Dolphins' career chart — and led the league with 90 receptions in 1998.

        BUCS: Tampa Bay and wide receiver Keenan McCardell agreed to a four-year, $10 million contract Saturday, giving the Bucs a proven pass-catcher opposite Keyshawn Johnson.

        McCardell had 94 and 93 receptions the past two seasons and surpassed 1,000 yards in four of his six years with Jacksonville. He teamed with Jimmy Smith to form the most productive receiving duo in NFL history over a six-year period (1,061 receptions from 1996-2001).

        The Bucs hope to get similar numbers from Johnson and McCardell.

        McCardell, one of the core players who helped Jacksonville make it to two AFC title games in the franchise's first five years, was released Monday in a salary-cap move. He visited Tampa on Thursday.

        The Bucs also brought in receiver Derrick Alexander, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings on Friday.

        Tampa Bay, under new coach Jon Gruden, is desperate to upgrade an offense that ranked 26th in the league last season. The team also signed receiver Joe Jurevicius in April.

        Former Bucs starters Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green signed with the Washington Redskins this off-season.

        VIKINGS: Coming off a disappointing, injury-impacted season, wide receiver Derrick Alexander probably isn't going to attract a whole lot of notice in his first year with Minnesota.

        Randy Moss will take most of that away.

        “Randy is a guy that people are going to pay a lot of attention to,” Alexander said. “I'm glad that I'm going to have a chance to play on the other side of him.”

        Alexander signed a three-year, $5.1 million contract with the Vikings Friday and joined his new teammates Saturday morning at a minicamp practice.

        “I'm pretty excited,” Alexander said. “Minnesota was a team that made it kind of known that they were looking for me after I became free. I'm just glad that we were able to make it happen.”

        Cut by Kansas City earlier this week, Alexander caught only 27 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games while sustaining rib and Achilles injuries. His best season came in 2000, when he had 78 receptions for 1,391 yards and 10 TDs.

McDuffie sues Dolphins doctors

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