*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Apr 23, 1999: -- Wooden Re-Signs --
The Dolphins announced today that they have re-signed Safety
Shawn Wooden to a one year contract for undisclosed terms. Wooden
missed most of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate
ligament and medial collateral ligament of his left knee. Before
that, Wooden had started 27 of 34 games that he'd played in as a
Dolphin.
A 6th round pick from Notre Dame, Wooden was a restricted free
agent this season, but despite some interest from the Bears and the
Jets, he did not sign an offer sheet from any other teams. Wooden
converted to safety for the Dolphins after having signed as a
cornerback in 1996.
My Comments:
While the terms of Wooden's contract were undisclosed, it's
likely that Wooden just signed the one year tender offer that the
Dolphins made in February to keep him a restricted free agent. That
would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent after next
season.
That seems to have been the trend of the Dolphins' restricted
free agents this year - sign the one-year tender offer and work on an
extended contract from now until the season starts. That way they're
covered if they can't get a decent long term contract and they can
practice without having to worry about getting injured without a
deal.
And like I said - if they can't work out a satisfactory
long-term deal with the team, then they can become unrestricted free
agents at the end of the 1999 season.
Wooden's signing leaves OJ Brigance as the only restricted
free agent that the Dolphins haven't signed yet in the off-season.
However, they still have 4 exclusive rights free agents that are
unsigned - Oronde Gadsden, Olindo Mare', Damon Huard and Mike Sheldon.
It's unclear at this point how well his knee recuperation is
going, but it is the same knee that he tore up in college and that may
slow things down. He is, as far as I know, only participating on a
limited basis in the mini-camp this weekend and next week and is not
expected to be ready to really practice until the start of training
camp in July.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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