*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***

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Jun 14, 1996: -- Brew Has Surgery; Mitchell Wants In... --

According to an article in today's Miami Herald, rookie cornerback Dorian Brew, the Dolphins' second overall draft pick, has had arthoscopic knee surgery to repair ligament damage to his right knee that he sustained in the recent mini-camp.

This injury is minor and Brew is expected to be back on July 15th for the start of rookies' training camp.

Tight end Johnny Mitchell, formerly of the New York Jets, is reportedly looking to sign with the Dolphins. Mitchell, who lives in Boca Raton, is so interested in signing with the Dolphins that his agent says that he will take less money from the 'Phins than he will from any other team. In fact, his agent Anthony Hilliard has said that Mitchell won't sign with any other team unless the Dolphins tell him that they are definitely NOT intereested in signing him.

Jimmy Johnson has talked with both Hilliard and with Keith Jackson's agent, but so far, the asking price for both players had been considered too high.

In other news, fifth round draftee Shane Burton is expected to sign a 3 year deal today for about $570,000. Burton played defensive line in college but has been moved to the offensive line.

Also expected to sign soon is Jeff Buckey, the seventh round selection from Stanford, who will reportedly sign a 2 year deal worth about $350,000.

And the Dolphins are reportedly seeking contract extensions for 4 players - Cornerback Calvin Jackson, Running Back Irving Spikes, Defensive Tackle Norman Hand and Wide Receiver Kirby Dar Dar. Except for Hand, whose current contract expires after the 1997 season, each of these players' contracts expires after this year.

And last, but not least, the Dolphins have named former Dolphin linebacker EJ Junior as their Director of Personal Programs. This is a position that put's Junior in charge of continuing education, personal finances, career opportunities and family assistance for the players.

My Comments:

Brew's injury is not - I repeat - NOT serious and should not affect his performance this summer. My heart did skip a beat when I read about it, though.

And so, the tight end saga continues.... I'm not sure that I'd want Johnny Mitchell, despite his talent, because of what I've heard about his attitude. However, he might blossom under the tutelage of JJ.

More draft signings before training camp is always a good thing, and helps get everyone on-board ASAP.

The contract extensions being offered to Spikes, Jackson, Hand and Dar Dar are intriguing, to say the least. It's interesting from a number of perspectives, not the least of which is that it puts a number of older players in very tenuous positions.

An extension for Spikes seems to indicate that Bernie Parmalee and his nearly $1 million salary may be in serious trouble. The same is true for Jackson and JB Brown.

An extension for Hand seems to mean that JJ is very impressed with him, because his contract was already good through 1997.

Kirby Dar Dar is a bit of a surprise to me, because I hadn't heard anything particularly exciting about his performance in the mini-camps, but with the wide receiver battle as tight as it's going to be, this is a very significant development.

Related Info:

Miami Herald:

Ex-Jet Mitchell hopes to land with Dolphins