It was quite the eventful Friday. Several reports surfaced that were worthy of a post. Obviously, the near resolution to the NFL lockout is dominating headlines, and rightfully so, as we all desperately want football to start on time in a couple weeks.
But there were also a few Dolphins-related nuggets that flew under the radar that should be interesting storylines to follow once an agreement is official. So let’s jump right in.
Resolution to lockout expected early next week
A day after the major breakthrough in negotiations that was the agreement in principle to a rookie wage scale, all significant stumbling blocks appear to have been hurdled. Today, the owners dropped their proposal to have one-time, right-of-first-refusal tags on free agents. Finishing up the language of the new deal, solving a few procedural minor issues, and dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s is all that’s apparently left to do.
How about this feel good tweet courtesy of Albert Breer to assure you sleep well tonight: “As we reported on Total Access, after two furious days of talk, agreement in principle expected early next week. Nearly nothing in the way.” At one point in time we were all worried we could miss a huge chunk of the 2011 season. Now it appears most teams won’t even miss a practice in training camp.
Dolphins reportedly interested in Ray Edwards
Jason La Canfora is apparently pretty tight with the Dolphins’ front office. A couple days after launching all of this Reggie Bush to Miami speculation, he reported that the Dolphins are very interested in soon-to-be former Minnesota Viking defensive end Ray Edwards. Before you get bent out of shape as to why the Dolphins would ink another defensive end when they are loaded at the position, Edwards comes from the Vikings’ 4-3 system, meaning he would be an outside linebacker in Miami, one of the team’s top three needs as we inch closer to free agency.
Edwards hasn’t exactly established himself as a household name playing in the large shadow of All-Pro DE Jared Allen, but he’s been solid the past two seasons with back-to-back 8-sack campaigns. According to Pro Football Focus, those sack totals don’t justify how effectively he’s been able to rush the passer. They claim he created a quarterback disruption on 69 of his 416 snaps he rushed, ranking third in the entire league. Add that to the fact that he’s only 26 years old and it’s easy to see why the Dolphins may pursue heavily in free agency considering their defense could be another consistent pass rusher away from emerging as an elite unit.
But the price has to be right. Edwards is likely going to ask to be paid near the likes of the upper echelon defensive ends in the league. He may not even be a starter if he were to sign with the Dolphins. Miami obviously already has Koa Misi slotted to start on the strong side opposite Cameron Wake this year. What they’re really looking for is a situational pass rusher who could spell Misi in nickel and dime packages. Under that scenario, Edwards would still play the majority of his snaps with his hand in the dirt and barring injury, how quickly he could transition to playing standing up in the 3-4 wouldn’t be as crucial.
It’s something the Dolphins would surely benefit from, but would it really be worth paying a situational pass rusher starter’s money? Unless, of course, the Dolphins move Misi inside next to Karlos Dansby and give the keys to starting outside linebacker to Edwards. But I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves there.
Brandon Marshall: “My wife did not stab me”
Providing another twist to the ongoing saga we all just wish would go away, Brandon Marshall told the Sun-Sentinel “I can’t talk about the details of the incident because it’s still an open case, but I did talk to the state attorney’s office last month and the one thing I made clear was my wife did not stab me. She didn’t assault me. We were having a marital dispute that got heated, but it didn’t happen as reported.”
Well, what exactly happened then? The knife just didn’t end up in Marshall’s abdomen by accident. He certainly wouldn’t stab himself, would he? No, I think it’s pretty obvious what Brandon is doing here. He’s covering up for his wife. I can’t imagine what kind of story he whipped up to the authorities to do so, but by claiming she didn’t stab him, he’s simply attempting to get the charges dropped. And if they are, hopefully we can finally close the chapter on an ugly incident that could have been much, much worse.
Tarvaris Jackson to the Dolphins?
Place significant merit in his reports or not, Jason La Canfora is certainly providing us with some interesting reading material regarding the Dolphins this week. As previously stated, he ignited the Bush to Miami hype a couple days ago, told us Ray Edwards is a possibility at outside linebacker, and tweeted the following tonight: “Also, keep an eye on former Vikes QB Tarvaris Jackson in free agency. I foresee a nice market for him. WSH, SEA and MIA strong possibilities.” I don’t remember the exact quote, but he even went as far on NFL Total Access to say that Jackson WILL end up in one those destinations.
I think I can speak for the entire fan base on this one. Few would welcome Jackson coming to Miami. Outside of a brief solid stint in 2008, he’s just never amounted to much in Minnesota despite being surrounded by so much talent. I would take every quarterback we’ve speculated about ahead of him, outside of maybe Marc Bulger who would be the epitome of a blah, boring, dull- however you want to put it- signing.
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