*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 08, 1997: -- Training Camp Opens Today --
** Training Camp Opens
The Dolphins open their 32nd season in the NFL today when
rookies and selected veterans report to the team's training facility
in Davie, Florida for training camp.
Full scale practices won't begin until tomorrow, but draftees,
rookie free agents and a few of the team's veterans will report today
and begin their preparation for the first full practice on Wednesday.
Most of the veterans are scheduled to report on Thursday and
have their first full day of practice on Friday, but CB Calvin
Jackson, OL Everett McIver and RB Jerris McPhail will be reporting
today and working out with the team tomorrow.
Normally, only veterans who have been injured or who don't have
a lot of experience with the team will report with the rookies.
** Draftee Signing Update
According to the Herald, 2 of the Dolphins' draftees agreed to
terms yesterday and the remaining 4 players may sign contracts today.
CB Hudhaifa Ismaeli signed a 3 year deal for a minimum salary with a
$31,000 signing bonus and DT Barron Tanner agreed to terms.
While Ismaeli was signing, the Dolphins were busily negotiating
Monday with LB Derrick Rodgers and DE Jason Taylor. According to Jason
Cole of the Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins hope to have agreement with all
their draftees by the end of today.
** Dolphins Sign DE Dunston Anderson
According to the Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins have signed DE
Dunston Anderson to a contract, who played in the WLAF this year. The
terms of his contract were undisclosed, but given his anonymity, he is
almost certainly making a minimum salary.
Anderson played for the Rhein Fire this year, ending the season
with 22 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 passes defensed. He is 6'3", 265
pounds and attended Tulsa.
** Emtman Loses Locker
The Dolphins have apparently cleared out Steve Emtman's old
locker, which had remained assigned to him during the off-season. This
is an indication that the Dolphins don't expect to have him back.
** Spikes to miss 2-4 weeks
Following Irving Spikes' successful surgery last week (the
Herald reports that he had surgery on July 3rd), it now appears that
Spikes will miss 2 to 4 weeks of training camp before he'll be back to
play with the team.
My Comments:
The start of training camp is always a relief and a time of
stress. It's a relief to get past the down times between the draft and
training camp, but it's a time of stress waiting to see who plays well
and who stinks. I can never get news fast enough during this time of
year.
Hopefully, the Dolphins will at least get agreements in
principal with all their remaining draft picks this week. That way
they can participate in training camp all summer.
Of course, it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it
anyway), that every minute that the draftees don't participate in camp
is bad for the future of their careers. However, it doesn't look like
any of the negotiations are that far away from resolution that we
should all start losing sleep over them.
It's a shame that they couldn't get Emtman back, but I doubt
that they will miss him too much. The only thing I can figure is that
they were offering him a minimum salary contract and he wouldn't accept
that. It will be interesting to see where he ends up.
As for Spikes, I think that if I were him, I'd ask my agent to
start talking to other teams quietly - just to be on the safe side.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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