*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 02, 1998: -- Phillips Breaks Toe --
** Phillips Breaks Big Toe
At the very end of the first day of the second Dolphins
quarterback camp of the season, Lawrence Phillips broke his toe.
According to news reports out of Miami this afternoon, Dolphins
running back Lawrence Phillips was stepped on at the very end of
practice yesterday and broke his big toe. The injury is not serious and
will not require surgery. While he will miss the rest of this camp, he
should be able to participate in the next quarterback camp at the
beginning of July.
This is disappointing for Phillips, because he had earned JJ's
praise yesterday after practice. Not only has he been looking good in
offensive drills, but he had also dropped 19 pounds from the 235 that he
had reported at to 216 as of yesterday. JJ had commented that Phillips
was in the best shape he had been in since arriving in Miami.
** Avery Skips First Day of Drills
Apparently on the advice of his agent, first round draft choice
John Avery attended team meetings on Monday, but skipped all the team
drills. The reason for the absence was not clarified by Avery or his
agent, but it may have had something to do with contract negotiations.
Following practice, JJ criticized Avery's absence, citing the
intense competition for the starting running back spot and Avery's need
to be there to compete against the other players.
And not coincidentally, JJ also praised fellow running backs
Lawrence Phillips and Karim Abdul-Jabbar.
While the reason Avery skipped practice yesterday isn't known,
contract negotiations for Avery are reportedly going very well. Avery
has reportedly been offered a deal in the $4 to $4.5 million dollar range
with a $1 million dollar signing bonus for 4 or 5 years. That would
put his salary in line with the number 29 pick of last year, New
England's Chris Canty, with a raise that would reflect the increased
revenues from this year's TV deal.
In fact, the negotiations are going well enough that Avery
reportedly spent yesterday looking at homes in the South Florida area
to buy.
Also sitting out of drills was defensive tackle Tim Bowens.
Bowens is currently unsigned and says he is not practicing because he
"wants to avoid possible injury". Bowens attended some team meetings
but was not on the practice field.
As the team's franchise player, Bowens does have a guaranteed
contract offer of about $2.8 million for 1998, but is hoping for a
multiyear deal in the $5 million dollar a year range.
Brent Smith also missed practice while recovering from
abdominal surgery last month, but free agent punter John Kidd did show
up to practice even though he is currently without a contract. Kidd
is trying to decide if he'll play football this coming season with the
Dolphins, sign with some other team or possibly even retire.
Other than John Avery and the 5 rookies who are prohibited from
practicing because their schools are still in session, all other
Dolphins' rookies worked out yesterday.
** McPhail Has Foot Surgery
Running back turned wide receiver Jerris McPhail had surgery on
an injured foot yesterday to remove a spur from a joint in his right
big toe. The surgery was successful and barring unforeseen
complications, McPhail should be back in the lineup when training camp
starts in late July.
** Raymond White Waived
Defensive tackle Ray White, who played on the Clemson defensive
line next to defensive end Lorenzo Bromell, was waived yesterday by the
Dolphins. White was signed during the first mini-camp as a rookie free
agent.
My Comments:
I guess if Phillips has any luck at all, it's bad luck. He
missed part of the last mini-camp with a strained hamstring and now
he'll miss the next 2 days because of a broken toe.
The only good news about the injury is that it's minor enough
that Phillips will be able to participate in the next quarterback camp
at the beginning of July.
On the subject of Avery - it's clear that the agents are more
interested in their money than in the players. Avery's agent (a guy
named Raymond Brothers) has apparently advised Avery to not do any
practicing until he's signed to a contract. Why? Well, to listen to
Brothers, it sounds like he's worried that Avery will get injured
before he signs his contract.
In other words, before the agent gets paid.
After that, the agent could care less because he will already
have taken his cut off the top. If Avery gets cut in August because
he missed too much practice in June and July, you can bet that Brothers
won't be giving Avery a refund, even though Avery won't be getting paid
the rest of this year.
Of course, there isn't much chance of Avery getting cut in
August. But there is the chance of him not getting a serious chance to
compete for the starting job. And there's the chance that if he
doesn't continue to work out, he won't be ready for the real practice
when the pads go on.
Hopefully, Avery will come to his senses and at least
participate in some of the drills today. Because the last person he
wants to piss off is JJ.
McPhail's toe injury is not serious, but it does mean that
Jerris will have to work that much harder to stay on the team in July.
With the move to wide receiver, McPhail is staring at almost the same
position as the rookies, because he's learning a new position and a new
system at the same time.
Hopefully, he'll be back at 100% by July.
On the waiver wires, there have been some interesting cuts so
far - Bryan Cox was cut by the Bears, Vinny Testaverde was cut by the
Ravens, and Donnell Woolford was cut by the Steelers.
These are the big names, of course and I only mention them
because they're interesting. I don't think that the Dolphins will have
any interest in any of them.
However, some other names became available yesterday and today
on the waiver wire and these names may hold a little more interest for
JJ. The reason I'm listing down there in the comments section is that
I have no real information that the Dolphins are interested in these
guys, but it seems logical that they might be.
Linebacker Robert Jones of the Rams was released today. Now,
many of you may be saying "who?", just like I did at first, but Jones
was the Rams starting middle linebacker for the last 2 years after
playing 4 years for the Dallas Cowboys.
In fact, Jones was selected by head coach Jimmy Johnson in the
first round of the 1992 Cowboys draft and started 15 games his rookie
year at middle linebacker for the 1992 SuperBowl Champion Dallas
Cowboys.
Jones is a 6 year veteran and has played on 3 winning SuperBowl
teams in Dallas. He was also selected to the Pro Bowl in 1994. At 6'3"
and 242 pounds, he's a prototypical JJ linebacker and it's possible that
JJ might want to take a chance on him in Miami.
The other player who's release caught my eye was guard Greg
Skrepenik of the Carolina Panthers. Skrepenik was drafted by the
Raiders in 1992 and played 4 years with them before signing with the
Panthers in 1996.
He has started every game for the last 2 years with the
Panthers at right guard. And at 6'7" and 330 pounds, he's a pretty
good sized offensive linemen.
Skrepenik has played both guard and tackle in his career,
although he has been a guard for the last 2 years. Given the Dolphins'
need for some more experienced offensive linemen, JJ may be interested
in Skrepenik.
The last player I'm going to mention hasn't been cut yet, but
Dallas defensive lineman Tony Tolbert is having trouble with his knees
and it doesn't look like he'll be able to play more than 20 to 25 plays
per game next year. Tolbert's current contract calls for him to be
paid $3.3 million next year and that's a lot of money for a guy who
can't play every down.
The Cowboys are reportedly trying to get him to take a pay cut,
but unless they can talk him into it, they will probably cut him. If
they do, JJ may be interested in his former player as a pass rushing
specialist in Miami.
Of course, all of this is speculation at this point, which is
why it's down here and not up in the news section.
Related Info:
[Return to Dolphins News]
Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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