*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jan 23, 1998: -- Four New Players Signed --
** Dolphins Sign 4 Players
The Dolphins announced yesterday that they have signed 4
players to the roster. The 4 players are defensive end Dunstan
Anderson, offensive lineman Mark Dixon, offensive lineman Barry Stokes
and offensive lineman Randy Wheeler.
Three of these players have already spent time with the team -
Dunstan Anderson was on the regular roster for most of this past year
and Wheeler and Stokes spent time on the practice squad.
The only total newcomer to the team is Mark Dixon, who has
spent the last 3 years in the Canadian Football League. Last year, he
started every game at left tackle for the Montreal Alouettes, which
included 18 regular season games and 2 playoff games. At 6'4" and 280
pounds, Dixon is not a big player, but was reportedly very effective
with the Alouettes.
DE Dunstan Anderson played in 9 games for Miami and actually
had one start after Jason Taylor was injured, but was replaced at
right defensive end by Shane Burton and was eventually cut late in the
season to make room for some defensive backs.
Wheeler, at 6'2" and 315 pounds is the heaviest of the
linemen. He was signed by the Dolphins last spring as a rookie free
agent from South Carolina and spent the entire season on the practice
squad. Stokes, at 6'4" and 312 pounds is almost as big. He was
signed by the Dolphins in November to the practice squad.
While terms of the signings have not been released, they were
all probably signed to one or two year deals at league minimum salary.
** Denorse Mosley Arrested on Gun Charge
Dolphins cornerback Denorse Mosley was arrested in Morgantown,
W. Va. on Tuesday for firing a gun into the air outside of a local
strip club.
Reports indicate that Mosley became upset when he was asked to
leave the "Lady Godiva" lounge around 3 AM and stood outside the loung
in the street, brandishing his .45 automatic and firing into the air.
The police arrived and charged him with brandishing a firearm and
shooting from a roadway, which are both misdemeanors in West Virginia.
Mosley was later released on $600 bail.
** Rumors Continue, But No Major Changes Yet
The rumors persist in Miami that JJ wants to hire Dallas
offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese, but any such move would have to
wait until Dallas fires Zampese, because Miami can't offer him a
supervisor title to lure him away from the Cowboys.
The NFL has stated that even if Miami fired Larry Beightol,
they would not regain the use of their supervisor positions and this
would prevent Miami from offering one to Zampese to justify his
leaving Dallas.
Of course, all this becomes moot if Zampese is fired. But the
rumor on that is that Zampese won't be fired until Dallas hires a new
head coach and that probably won't happen until after the SuperBowl on
Sunday.
Also in the rumor mill are the rumors that Tim Bowens wants $3
million a year in salary and Zach Thomas wants a raise. Of course,
both of those rumors have been spread by their agent Drew Rosenhaus,
who is well known for his antics and public statements to get his
clients more money.
My Comments:
The first signings of players for next year are probably just
place holders and cannon fodder, but one may develop into a quality
player. Most likely, though, none of them will be starting next year
and I'd be surprised if more that 1 of them was still on the regular
roster in September.
The most intriguing prospect of the 4 is Dixon. He is
regarded as the best offensive lineman of the Alouettes and the
running game suffered noticeably when he was not in the lineup.
On the other hand, he's never made it in the NFL, despite
being in at least 2 other training camps and he's pretty small for a
modern offensive lineman.
Special thanks to my friends up north, Pierre Duchesne and
Dixon Tam for their information on Mark Dixon.
Moving on to Denorse Mosley - stupidity has no place on the
team, especially not dangerous stupidity. While I understand that
young men can sometimes get out of hand, this is completely
intolerable. JJ should fire him.
In the rumor mill - the rumors about Bowens wanting $3 million
a year are probably true and I'll bet he gets it, if not from the
Dolphins, then from someone else.
As far as Zach Thomas is concerned, I think that he deserves a
raise for his contributions to the team, but he is under contract
until the end of next year and I can't imagine JJ giving him $2
million at this time. They might rework his contract to give him a
raise, but I don't think it will be $2 million.
I must admit that I don't have a clue what JJ will do with the
offensive coordinators position, but we should find out more next week
after the SuperBowl.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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