*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Mar 20, 1997: -- Teague Agrees to Terms --
The Miami Herald is reporting this morning that free agent
George Teague has agreed to terms with the Miami Dolphins on a
contract that will pay him about $3 million over 3 years. Teague
turned down a more lucrative offer from Baltimore to come to Miami and
play for coach Jimmy Johnson.
Teague, at 6'1" and 195 lbs, would become the biggest
defensive back currently under contract with the Dolphins. He will
probably be the starting free safety when training camp opens this
summer, bumping last year's starter Shawn Wooden to a backup role.
Teague is remembered mostly for a few number of big plays that
he's made during his career. While a rookie with the Green Bay
Packers, Teague returned a Scott Mitchell pass 101 yards for the
longest interception return for a touchdown in postseason history.
Last year, Teague started 8 games for Dallas after their
starting safety Brock Marion went down. During that time he recorded
57 tackles, 4 interceptions and 6 passes defensed. During the first
playoff game against the Vikings, Teague forced 2 fumbles, one of
which prevented a touchdown when he stripped Amp Lee of the ball from
behind right before Lee was going to cross the goal line. And if that
wasn't enough, he returned an interception for a touchdown.
According to the Herald, signing Teague puts the Dolphins
about $1.5 million under the salary cap. This means that the
Dolphins will have to trim some salaries to be able to sign all the
rookies that they intend to sign.
Teague is expected to sign his new contract today.
My Comments:
Well, this ends the speculation about George Teague. I'm a
little skeptical about Teague, because I hear different things about
him. On the one hand, I hear he is a playmaker and certainly has
shown the ability to make big plays. On the other hand, I've heard
he's inconsistent and sometimes makes bonehead mistakes.
I remember a young Louis Oliver as the same kind of player.
He would make big plays, but then screw up in other situations. Now
he's history. With the signing of Teague, Oliver won't be back (and
neither will Michael Stewart - not that that's a big surprise to
anyone).
On a separate note, I'm a little concerned that the Dolphins
have spent too much money on free agents. I realize that these are
impact players, but I hope that JJ hasn't done exactly what he said
that he wouldn't do and overspend for free agents at the expense of
the draft.
Where is he going to get $2 million for draftees? Perhaps
they've been talking with Marino about a restructure of his contract
(although I've heard absolutely no news about that from anywhere). Or
perhaps they'll restructure a whole bunch of other players'
contracts. But the money has to come from somewhere, now that they've
bought a bunch of free agents.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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