*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Feb 04, 1997: -- JB Brown; Chris Singleton Waived --
DOLPHINS NEWS:
It didn't take long for the ax to fall in Miami as the
Dolphins waived long time starters Chris Singleton and JB Brown
yesterday. Both Singleton and Brown lost their starting jobs on the
defense last year and both refused to take pay cuts to stay with the
team.
According to the Herald, the Dolphins will save approximately
$1.2 million in salary cap money by cutting the two, but part of their
prorated signing bonuses will still count against the cap. According
to my numbers, this puts the Dolphins at a payroll of about $37
million, which is about $4 million under the projected 97 NFL cap of
$41 million.
Without Brown and Singleton, the Dolphins will need to fill
the gap at outside linebacker and cornerback. However, this comes as
no surprise, since these were considered to be the biggest areas of
need on the defense anyway.
The draft is deep in cornerbacks this year, so the Dolphins
may try to fill that position in April, but there are also some
interesting cornerbacks available through free agency.
For outside linebacker, the two popular names mentioned in
connection with the Dolphins are Darrin Smith of the Cowboys and
Michael Barrow of the Oilers. However, Smith is said to want about
$1.5 million as a salary, which might be beyond Miami's interest. And
the Oilers have said that they'll do anything to keep Barrow, so it
will be hard to land him.
The team is currently negotiating with Steve Emtman and Scott
Miller to reduce their salaries and would also like Charles Jordan to
take a paycut, but so far, Jordan has refused.
My Comments:
JB Brown was much better when he was a young unknown
struggling for a spot on the team. When he won the starting job
opposite Tim McKyer many years ago, he was one of the biggest
surprises in the league. However, since then, Brown has not shown a
lot of improvement and has developed an annoying tendency to get
called for pass interference at the worst times. He lost his starting
job in training camp last spring and had a mediocre year.
Singleton has almost always been an underacheiver in the pros.
He was picked up by the Patriots as a first round draft choice, but
was fired by Bill Parcells when he took over the team. He landed in
Miami, where he won the starting job, but has not played up to his
potential with the Dolphins, either.
Neither of these players will be missed by the team and I
doubt that either will be a big success wherever they wind up.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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