Right before word was approaching the cell phone of FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer that the Dolphins had signed David Garrard, the Dolphins terminated the contract of Yeremiah Bell.
Bell was named Co-Captain of the defense and was the longest tenured Dolphin prior to the retirement of Jason Taylor in January. Bell was selected in the 6th round out of Eastern Kentucky by then coach Dave Wannstedt.
Bell finished with 107 tackles and can best be remembered for his ferocious and often violent hits as a safety.
The Dolphins claim to have cut over 6 million in salary with savings of 4.3 million dollars on this year’s salary cap.
The Dolphins have yet to disclose the release of Yeremiah Bell, but the timing is impeccable given the demand for a safety in the NFL has dried up in the past week.
It is possible, that Bell, who is 34 years old can still play at a high level and may play one more time at Sun Life Stadium for a competitor in the AFC.
As a fan, I am puzzled by why the Dolphins keep getting rid of good guys. Bell was an all around good guys and mentored young players on the defense.
Jared Odrick tweet today:
“Sad to see YB go, he was a mentor to me and a lot of us. One person I def confided in my rookie season. Great player & person.”
During the dreaded 2011 season, Bell, became the spokesperson and locker room presence when the excrement was hitting the fan on the way to 0-7 and the Suck for Luck campaign was in full force.
No matter the situation, Yeremiah Bell backed up his teammates when Brandon Marshall had an altercation with Vontae Davis or when the Dolphins left all of their wins on the road in 2010 while going 1-7 at home.
All Yeremiah Bell did was play hard for the aqua and orange. He gave it his all.
I know that some fans see this as a blessing in disguise, but Bell is a classic Ronnie Lott type of safety where he does just enough to get to the ball and make the receiver or tight end pay for coming into his zone.
Let’s not forget Bell on a Corner/Saftey blitz package who has 11 career sacks. In total, Bell has amassed 562 tackles, and 435 solo tackles in his career.
The market does not have a lot of safeties like Bell. The draft does and the Dolphins have signed Richard Marshall, a faster and younger Safety. It is possible that the Dolphins made one move early to foreshadow the move they would make today. In addition, Reshad Jones and Jimmy Wilson could compete for a safety spot on the Dolphins defense.
The Dolphins retained Soliai, but did not keep Bell or Langford.
The off season has just begun, but the Jeff Ireland churning machine is already fired up.
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