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*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Sep 06, 1996: -- Update... --

DOLPHINS NEWS:

The Dolphins signed linebacker Marc Lillibridge to the practice squad on Tuesday, filling the space left vacant by the waiver of QB Spence Fischer. Fischer was released following the signing of Craig Erickson.

Lillibridge, at 6'1" and 241 lbs, played linebacker at Iowa State before signing with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1995. However, Philly waived him out of training camp last year and he sat out the season before signing briefly with the Bills in March. He has never played in an NFL game.

Also in the personnel department, the Bears signed tight end Bobby Neely off of the Dolphins practice squad on Wednesday. The Dolphins signed fullback Lee McClinton to take his place. This makes the second year in a row that McClinton will occupy a slot on the practice squad.

Calvin Jackson did not sustain cartilege damage in the game on Sunday as I previously reported. However, he did sprain his left knee and is wearing a brace in practice. He may or may not play Sunday, but so far, JB Brown has been working with the first team defense. The final decision won't be made until game time.

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Dolphins are working on contract extensions for five of their players - Tim Bowens, Norman Hand, Calvin Jackson, Irving Spikes and OJ McDuffie. Jackson, Spikes and McDuffie are in the final years of their contracts, while Bowens still has 2 years to go and Hand has one more year.

And last, but not least, running back Karim Abdul-Jabbar was named the AFC's offensive player of the week last week for his 115 yard performance against the Patriots. With his 4.4 yard/carry average and 1 touchdown, Abdul-Jabbar is only the second Dolphins rookied ever to be named as offensive player of the week. The other was Troy Stradford back in 1987.

Rookie Zach Thomas was considered for AFC Defensive player of the week honors after his 9 tackle, 1 sack performance against the Patriots, but was beaten out by Ray Lewis of the Ravens.

My Comments:

Practice squad comings and goings will continue throughout the year as players get injured and sidelined. There is nothing particularly interesting about any of the moves this week.

I'm in favor of the Dolphins allowed Jackson to sit out the game against the Cardinals this week. He's too valuable to risk against the Cards.

The contract extensions being worked on are just common sense. After losing so many valuable players during the off-season, it makes sense to extend the contracts of the players listed.

As far as Zach Thomas is concerned, I think that the reason he didn't make the defensive player of the week is at least partially because one Dolphin was already named as player of the week and I'm sure the NFL wouldn't want both players of the week to come from the same team. But Thomas was considered for the honor.

Related Info:

Miami Herald:

Dolphins Notebook Thursday

ESPNet Sportszone:

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