*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Jun 08, 1999: -- B.Jones Signs; Other News --
** LB Bryan Jones Signs
The first of the Dolphins' 1999 draftees to sign with the
team was linebacker Bryan Jones of Oregon State, who signed a 3 year
deal yesterday for an estimated $850,000. His picked up a signing
bonus reported at $100,000 and will play for the NFL minimum of
$175,000 this season.
Jones was picked by the Dolphins with their 2nd pick in the
5th round. As a college player, he was a very active but somewhat
undersized linebacker. With the Dolphins, he will be a backup
linebacker on the weak side and will get a lot of work on special
teams.
Other draftees that are reportedly close to signing are FB
Rob Konrad and OL Joe Wong.
** Marino Close to Signing Contract Extension
According to a report in the Miami Herald this morning, the
Dolphins are close to signing Dan Marino to a 2 year contract
extension that would keep Dan under contract through 2001 and cut
his salary cap hit this year by about $2.14 million from it's current
level of about $7.14 million.
Marino's agent, Marvin Demoff, said that a deal would likely
be signed by the end of this week. The proposal addressed in the
article says that Dan would get a $6.4 million signing bonus. If his
salary cap hit decreases by $2.14 million, that would put his base
salary this year at about $2.87 million and his salary cap hit this
year would be about $5 million.
** LB Dixon Edwards Visits Training Camp
LB Dixon Edwards, who was cut by the Vikings in a salary cap
move last week, visited the Dolphins on Friday, June 4th. Edwards was
originally drafted by JJ and the Cowboys in the 2nd round of the 1991
draft and has 3 SuperBowl rings from his years in Dallas, starting in
the 1993 and 1995 SuperBowls.
He was signed by the Vikings in 1996 and has played there
since then. Last season, he started 14 games for the Vikings, making
46 tackles and forcing one fumble.
At present, the Dolphins have not made him a contract offer.
** OJ Brigance Has Back Surgery
Linebacker OJ Brigance, Co-captain of the Dolphins' special
teams last season along with Bernie Parmalee, underwent back surgery
last Thursday for a partial disc removal in his lumbar spine region.
The surgery was successful and although he is not expected to be back
for the start of training camp, latest reports say that his recovery
is ahead of schedule and he hopes to be back by the middle of training
camp.
** Quarterback Camp II Ends
The Dolphins concluded their 2nd quarterback school of the
1999 season on Friday without fanfare, fuss or much news of any
significance. The 3 day school was conducted without pads or serious
hitting and the first day was canceled entirely because of rain, but
some information became available following the practice sessions.
First of all, WR Yatil Green missed all the practices, but
not because of injury. He contracted food poisoning over the Memorial
Day weekend and even had to spend one night in the hospital because of
it and was excused from the workouts.
Also excused (in fact, prohibited) from working out were
draftees Brent Bartholemew and Bryan Jones. Both players were
prohibited from participating by NFL rules because their colleges were
still in session last week.
Early in the week, it appeared that Cecil Collins might not
be able to participate in some of the practices because he strained
his back while jumping on a trampoline. He had been participating in
an NFL-sponsored event for new rookies when he suffered the injury.
However, after practice was cancelled on Tuesday, Collins participated
in all the remaining practices.
Collins also showed up about 5-6 pounds lighter than he was
at the first quarterback school. He's still got between 5 and 10
pounds to go before he makes playing weight (depending on which report
you believe), but he's on his way.
Also, safeties Shawn Wooden and Brian Walker both
participated in all the practice sessions and are ahead of schedule in
their rehabilitation from knee injuries last season. Both expect to
be at or near 100% by the start of training camp.
Tim Bowens landed in the doghouse with JJ during practice
when he showed up overweight. As an incentive to make his designated
playing weight, JJ said last week that if Bowens made his weight by
the time training camp starts, he would be allowed to report with the
rest of the veterans on July 30th. However, if he's still overweight
on July 27th, he'll have to start training camp with the rookies.
One of the new wrinkles spotted during training camp was
having Sam Madison switch to the left cornerback position during
drills. Last year, he played exclusively on the right side. However,
this year, it looks like the team will switch coverages depending on
where opposing receivers line up.
The only injury of this session was to Lorenzo Bromell, who
suffered a mild sprained ankle on Friday and left practice early. He
is expected to be fully recovered in time for quarterback school 3 in
July.
Rumors:
There are the usual rumors flying around this time of year
about possible trades, but two rumors have stood out from the rest
this week.
First of all, there is a report that a Patriots' assistant
coach has said that the Patriots may be interested in acquiring Karim
Abdul-Jabbar. While this may be true, it seems unlikely that JJ would
be willing to trade one of his most trusted players to a division
rival without significant compensation.
However, the context of the rumor seemed to be that the
Patriots are expecting JJ to cut KAJ sometime this summer and I think
that this is highly unlikely.
The other rumor comes from Fred Edelstein and while it
doesn't directly concern the Dolphins, it could have a significant
impact in the AFC East this fall. The rumor is that the Dolan group,
which includes Don Shula and which failed to buy the Browns, wants to
purchase the New York Jets from the Hess family.
That would be stunning enough if not for the additional rumor
that Don Shula would be named General Manager of the Jets after the
takeover. This would mean that Bill Parcels, who is currently General
Manager, would either have to content himself with going back to just
being the coach or would have to retire.
If this came to pass, and if Don Shula were named GM of the
Jets, Parcels would not take a demotion and would retire. And that
would significantly change the balance of power in the division.
On the other hand, Don Shula has publicly announced recently
that he is not involved in any attempt to buy the Jets. If you take
that statement and then consider the source of this rumor, I think
that you can see that the odds of this happening as reported by
Edelstein are small.
Still, it makes for interesting reading.
My Comments:
The first draftee signing of the new year is always a
significant milestone, because it signals the start of the final phase
of the off-season. With only 8 draftees to sign this year and none in
the first round, all the rookies should be signed and in camp with no
problem.
What is a little unusual about this signing is the length of
the contract. Three years is about the max you can expect for a 5th
round pick to sign. And, with the injury to OJ Brigance keeping him
out of at least part of training camp, Bryan Jones will get a better
chance to make the team.
For those who are wondering, there is no sign at this point
that JJ plans to try Bryan Jones at safety. It looks like he'll be
put at weakside linebacker and will stay there.
And with Brian Walker and Shawn Wooden recovering well, he
shouldn't be needed back there.
Marino's contract extension was expected and has been
discussed since last fall. The Dolphins will need to get it done
before they can sign all the rookies, though.
Of more significance, perhaps, is a contract extension for OJ
McDuffie. While the negotiations are ongoing, they are not going very
fast. I don't think that there is any chance that OJ will hold out of
training camp, but it would make me a little more relaxed to know that
he had been signed.
The news from QB school is sketchy and in addition to the
"official" news, there are a few unofficial tidbits to report.
Oronde Gadsden is running better than he has since he joined
the team last year, but his toes still require a lot of attention and
during practice, he's wearing special shoes with the toe cleats
removed. He has elected to put off surgery on his feet until after
this season, but he'll need it eventually.
Cecil Collins has lost some weight, but is only about halfway
to his designated playing weight. Still, reports that he is in JJ's
doghouse appear to be wrong. The coaches are still impressed with
what they see from him. He is quick, strong, can accelerate and has
good instincts.
Sammie Burroughs - the free agent linebacker signed from the
Colts - had an interception in practice last week.
It's beginning to look like James Johnson will not get much
of a chance to shine until the pads go on in training camp. Because
he's not as quick as Collins or Avery, he doesn't stand out as much
when there's no hitting going on.
And speaking of Avery, the word is that he looked especially
good in passing drills last week. All that hard work in the
off-season is paying off.
And last, but not least, there have been mixed reports on
Larry Shannon. One report has him shining, but another says that he
looks confused on the field and is holding back a little. Only time
will tell.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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