*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Oct 05, 1996: -- Jackson Gets New Deal --
DOLPHINS NEWS:
The Miami Herald reported yesterday that cornerback Calvin
Jackson has just signed a contract extension through the year 1999.
The deal will pay him $1.25 million through the 1999 season, and he
received a $150,000 signing bonus. Reportedly, his new contract could
also pay him up to $200,000 in incentives each year.
Jackson was signed 2 years ago as a free agent after he
dropped out of Auburn. His most recent contract was signed through
this year, but after winning the starting job at right cornerback over
veteran JB Brown, Jackson's value to the team increased enormously.
In other news, the word is that Jeff Cross's back is not
healing as well as has been hoped. His doctor evaluated him on
Wednesday and the prognosis is "not completely positive". According
to the Herald, the Dolphins have 3 weeks from next Monday to decide
whether or not Cross can return to practice. If he doesn't return to
practice in 3 weeks, he must be placed on IR or waived.
And last, but not least, Zach Thomas put enough of a hit on
Karim Abdul-Jabbar in practice on Wednesday to give Abdul-Jabbar a
strained neck and possibly make him miss the start on Sunday.
Abdul-Jabbar will definitely play on Sunday, but Irving Spikes may
start in front of him if Abdul-Jabbar's neck doesn't feel better.
My Comments:
As a starter, Jackson certainly deserves a better contract
than the one year, minimum salary deal he had at the beginning of the
season. He may or may not turn out to be a true starter, but the
contract extension shows a couple of things - it shows that performers
will be rewarded and it shows that the team has a commitment to
building continuity for the future.
The news on Jeff Cross is disappointing, but I don't think
that Cross would have added that much to the defensive line. Cross
had one Pro-Bowl season back in 1990 with 11.5 sacks and that's a lot
more than you normally expect from a 9th round draft pick. But since
then, he's been less impressive and has been missing games with
injuries almost every year since.
And somebody needs to tell Zach Thomas that *some* running
backs are his friends.....
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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