*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jul 31, 1997: -- Madison Has Minor Surgery --
The injury merry-go-round continues, as the Dolphins have
announced that rookie cornerback Sam Madison had successful
arthoscopic surgery on his left ankle joint last night to remove a
"loose body" that was causing him irritation and swelling.
Barring complications, Madison will be sidelined 2-3 weeks,
but should be ready for the season opener against Indianapolis.
The Dolphins made a number of roster moves on Wednesday,
waiving rookies James Dye and Hudhaifa Ismaeli, along with punter Rob
Deignan. The Dolphins also signed free agent wide receiver Terence
Davis, a 5-11, 197-pounder from McNeese State.
Dye was signed as a rookie free agent immediately after the
draft this year, and played fairly well until he injured his thumb
last week and was forced to have surgery on it.
While it is technically against the bargaining agreement to
waive a player while he's injured, the Dolphins reached a settlement
with Dye and agreed to continue to pay his medical expenses.
Ismaeli was the last Dolphins' pick in the 1997 draft, after
spending the last year of his college career on suspension for drug
violations. During camp this year, he started at cornerback, but was
moved to safety later in camp.
Rob Deignan was signed as a free agent punter to compete with
John Kidd, but had already been waived once earlier in training camp.
Davis was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a
rookie free agent last year, but was released by them during last
summer's training camp. He then spent the '96 season on the Kansas
City Chief's training squad, but was released by the Chiefs a month
ago.
My Comments:
What? Another one? I knew this day was going to be a lousy
one when I discovered that I had left my lights on in my car and I
needed a jump start to get going this morning. This was one of those
days where you say "I should have stayed in bed...".
I'm starting to wonder if JJ is having players have
arthoscopic surgery just as a precautionary measure before the
season. I had certainly heard nothing about Madison having any
problems with his ankle, but you know that it must have been bothering
him for some time.
The profusion of leg injuries at positions where running is
crucial makes me wonder if there is something different about the
practice field this year. Is it too soft? Too hard? Did they do
something with the grass? Are there too many potholes on the field?
Almost all of the serious injuries this summer have involved
little or no contact, but a lot of running. Izzo, Green, Barnett,
Miller, Dawsey, and now Madison have all had trouble when running.
Perhaps they need a new lawn service for the training
facility.
Moving on to the waivers, Deignan was destined to be waived,
the only question was when. James Dye was pretty much finished when
he injured his thumb, despite the problems with the wide receiving
corps this year.
Ismaeli is more of a question, but Shawn Wooden's experience
notwithstanding, it's unusual for a player to make the transition from
one position to another in the middle of training camp and still make
the cut. Ismaeli and Diegnan may catch on with another team, but I
think that Dye has played his last in the NFL.
Davis is yet more training camp fodder, brought in to catch
passes while Barnett and Miller heal.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New England
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