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Ronnie Brown on the way out of Miami?

ESPN's Chris Mortensen has just reported (sort of) that the Dolphins may get rid of Ronnie Brown before this season begins.

I'm saying Mortensen sort of reported it because, frankly, he backed into the whole subject. The Monday Night Countdown show was doing one of its cheesey segments, this one called 'Sink or Swim,' in which the pundits were giving their opinion whether certain players would succeed or fail this year.

Mortensen was asked about Ricky Williams and while talking about how he would "swim," he went on to say that the Dolphins are so pleased with Williams he "would not be surprised if Ronnie Brown sinks," to the point where "he is playing with another team this season."

Mortensen's reason for Brown being out of here is that the player is "struggling" this preseason.

Wow.

Before I go on, let me tell you that Mortensen was at Miami's preseason game against Jacksonville Saturday evening and he did spend time talking to general manager Jeff Ireland. So one presumes this comes from Ireland as the source and not just out of sheer speculation.

But it is possible for a GM to sometimes think out loud without having any real expectation of following through on an idea and also not expecting the idea to actually be unveiled on national TV.

I would think if Mort, an outstanding reporter by any measure one uses, had the story nailed, he would have come stronger than he just did. I would think it would have been his lead comment, not the Williams sink or swim bunk.

Having said all that, it is true that Brown is clearly not Miami's best RB now. That is Williams. It is true he has failed to play all 16 games in any of his three previous seasons. And it is true Brown will be in the final year of his contract in 2009 so the idea of getting something for him now might be attractive.

But I have a hard time believing the Dolphins would simply whack the guy that talented. And I also doubt any team would give the Dolphins the first round pick they invested on Brown in 2005 when you have a glut of running backs still on the market -- including Shaun Alexander and Cedric Benson.

So we shall monitor this one to see if Mort just dropped a bomb or simply lit a lame firecracker.

Ronnie's trade value is at it's lowest right now.  If he had finished the season playing the way he did, he would've made the Pro Bowl and it would've been possible to get a first rounder for him. 

As it is, he's proven that he is a talented back, but he's also proven that he cannot stay healthy.

I think its funny how reporters always comment about Ronnie not having played 16 games in in any of the three previous seasons, due to injury. But on the flip side they fail to mention that another running back hasn't played in 16 games in the previous three seasons due to suspensions/drug usage/retirement.

And this is why we need to keep both backs for now. 

Wouldn't mind it at all. I'll take a receiver for glass man. Anquan you there?

I swear, if they get rid of Ronnie, I will be SO PISSED. 

I don't buy it

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/08/18/is_ronnie_brown_rumor_more_tha.html

Is Ronnie Brown rumor more than just good TV?

By Edgar Thompson | Monday, August 18, 2008, 09:41 PM

Either Chris Mortensen was trying to spice up a mundane pre-game show for a pre-season game or he was reporting the most-shocking story of the Dolphins’ young season.

Speaking on Monday Night Countdown, Mortensen said Dolphins RB Ronnie Brown could be playing for another team this season.

Guess Mort must be a big Patrick Cobbs fan because the idea doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. The season is three weeks away, Brown is less than 10 months removed from a torn ACL and until recently Ricky Williams has been about as reliable as a ‘73 Gremlin.

The statement was based on the fact that Williams has looked so good, while Brown has looked mediocre, for two whole pre-season games. Brown also played pretty so-so for two regular-season games last season before he suddenly was leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 7.

It would be easy to dismiss the whole thing as more of the same from ESPN, where these days the stronger and more shocking the opinion, the better.

But Mortensen is one of the best in the business - one of true insiders in the profession - and spent some time on the sideline chatting with Fins GM Jeff Ireland before Saturday’s game in Jacksonville.

Ireland and Bill Parcells seem to be looking trade value everywhere they can find it so they can bring in people they’ve handpicked. If the new regime believes it can get some good value for Brown, maybe it’d listen to an offer.

It would have to be a good one, since Brown was the No. 2 pick in the 2005 draft and was well on his way to the Pro Bowl before his injury in ‘07. But Brown’s contract is up next season, so maybe the timing is right to shop him.

The Dolphins also would shed some more payroll with the move. Brown is scheduled to earn a base salary of $3.66 million this season, while the team is on the hook for only $730,000 for Williams.

Brown also has a few other things that might not make him part of the long-range plan here: 1. He’s not a Parcells-type back, who’ll lug it 20 times or more a game week in and week out and grind out yards. 2. He hasn’t made it through a 16-game season and is now nursing a sprained right thumb suffered the other night. 3. His 2007 season was a big surprise, considering Brown looked like a good player, not a special one, his first two seasons, then showed up to last year’s training camp out of shape and ran tentatively.

This year, Brown, 26, hasn’t looked nearly as good as Williams. Coaches and management might believe this has less to do with Brown’s knee than with Williams’ superior ability.

Maybe Parcells and Ireland believe Williams, 31, can be an every-down back for the Dolphins like he was in 2002 and 2003, when he gained nearly 4,000 yards from scrimmage and scored 26 TDs.

But banking on Williams, backed up by Cobbs and rookie Jalen Parmele, would be a bold move. It would depend on Williams remaining healthy while carrying a heavy workload and playing a few more seasons without incident.

With Brown, the Dolphins would have a one-two punch few teams could match. Take him away and the Dolphins have one talented, yet troubled, back and their fingers crossed nothing happens to him.

Like I said..I don't buy it.

Ireland might be "testing the waters" out there to see if someone would bite with Ronnie Brown as trade bait and he used Mortensen to do it.

I don't think they'll whack Brown unless they get a great offer and feel that Ricky will be the workhorse.   Brown was the NFL's leading yards from scrimmage man before he went down last year.

I personally like Brown and think he's is an asset to this team, but if Parcells/Ireland/Sparano think they can do better, they will do a trade to further the team for the future.

Call me crazy but Mort didn't say they were looking to do that.  He said he "would not be surprised if Ronnie Brown sinks," to the point where "he is playing with another team this season".   This is an opinion and is not fact.

Ronnie may go or he may not but there is absolutely nothing in Mort's conversation to say that he has inside info. He didn't say it nor did he insinuate he did.

salguero pointed out that both mort and ireland were having a private conversation on the sideline. this might very well be ireland/parcells putting some subtle feelers out there...

rb's are so "dime a dozen" right now its not even funny. you can practically pick up a decent one off of the street somewhere. although ronnie was the best back out of the top 3 being considered, and is a pretty good player, the player that should've been drafted was braylon edwards. lesson to learn here is that rb's aren't worth high draft picks.

hey arizona, wake up!!! you have a very disgruntled player on your hands, doesn't bode well for team chemistry. we'll swap you ronnie brown for boldin  ;D

Trading Ronnie Brown at the point where his trade value is at its absolute lowest makes no sense whatsoever.

To get anything substantive from Brown, the Trifecta would have to show that he is over his injury. You don't do that by having him run into the line a couple of times during a preseason game.

If they truly wanted to move Brown (which is a really bad idea, IMHO, for the simple reason that you need quality behind Pothead), they would play him more in preseason - at probably even a bit against the second-stringers, just to run his numbers up a bit. At the very least, they would have him cut to the outside once.

Trading Brown at all makes no sense.  You trade the 26 year old and run the 31 year old ragged?  Are they that high on Cobbs, Hilliard, and Parmele?  I don't see this happening at all.  Ronnie Brown is a nice, young back who's got 4 - 6 good years left in him.  Ricky's got maybe 2 years before he loses several steps.

Technically, he led the NFL in Yds from scrimmage a week "after" he went down last year...

For the love of God, let's not get rid of Ronnie.  The guy is mega talented and could play at least 7 more years, as he has not taken a lot of punishment on his body

They better not trade Brown.  >:(

Ronnie would give the thumbs up on th idea.......but oh yeah.......his thumb ain't working either.  ::) As talanted as Ronnie is, he does not run smart. You can only run full force at a wall for slong before you wear down. He needs to learn how to cut. Oh yeah.........his knee can't do that either.  ::)

  It would have to take some sort of blockbuster deal to get Ronnie away from Miami.  Personally, it doesn't make sense to even entertain the thought of dealing Ronnie Brown.  Despite the fact he's coming off an ACL injury, he is still one of the Dolphins best offensive weapons.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/08/dolphins-to-dis.html

Dolphins to disavow Brown rumor [update]

We are approximately one hour from the time coach Tony Sparano is scheduled to conduct his daily press conference and it is fair to say he has a game plan in mind for this one.

Sparano apparently was taken as much by surprise by ESPN's Ronnie Brown report last night on Monday Night Countdown as, say, you and I may have been. So the belief here is that Sparano will try to make the point in his presser that Miami does not expect to jettison Ronnie Brown.

That, of course, is the plan as of now. It remains to be seen how well Miami's new coach, a guy not all that experienced with orchestrating press conferences, actually follows the game plan because sometimes the questions get asked in goofy ways by us media dorks and sometimes the answers don't make the point very clearly.

Anyway, as I updated in the previous post, Brown (sprained thumb) was on the practice field today wearing a cast that covered his entire right hand and extended half way up his forearm. He caught a couple of passes with his left hand in the time period the practice was open to the media.

And, in case you missed the point last night, it seems hard to believe the Dolphins would put Brown on the trade block as Chris Mortensen's ESPN report suggests for a number of reasons. They are:

He's not 100 percent healthy. His value to Miami is greater than it is to most other teams. He's a good insurance policy against Ricky Williams flaking out again. And he's a pretty young player with good upside potential left to tap.

Check back after the presser for an update on what Sparano said and how it compares to what he planned to say.

Update: Sparano indeed disavowed the rumor. He said there is "no chance," Brown is not on the Dolphins this year. He also said there has been, "no discussion of that internally or externally."

I am crafting the next entry that will give details of the QB competition and other notes so check back for a new post soon.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/miamidolphins/entries/2008/08/19/sparano_no_chance_that_were_tr.html

Sparano: “No chance that we’re trading Ronnie."

By Edgar Thompson | Tuesday, August 19, 2008, 12:49 PM

Coach Tony Sparano shot down a rumor the Dolphins could be shopping running back Ronnie Brown.

“No chance that we’re trading Ronnie,” Sparano said early this afternoon. “I understand another rumor is flying out there. Last week, it was (quarterback John) Beck. This week it’s Ronnie.

“There was no discussion of that internally or externally. None.”

Speaking on Monday Night Countdown, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said Brown could be playing for another team this season. Mortensen’s comment was based on the fact that Ricky Williams has looked so good, while Brown has looked mediocre during two pre-season games.

Adding fuel to the rumor was Mortensen seen on the sideline chatting with Fins GM Jeff Ireland before Saturday’s game in Jacksonville.

Given the plans of the Dolphins’ offense to lean on the one-two punch of Williams and Brown, Sparano said the rumor wasn’t a tough one to quash.

“That is easy,” he said. “I wish they were all like that.”

As for Brown’s slow start less than 10 months removed from an ACL tear, Sparano said “it’s been hard” to get an idea how Brown looks in a game environment.

He played only five plays during the pre-season opener against Tampa and four plays last weekend at Jacksonville before spraining his right thumb. Brown has six rushing yards on five carries in the two games.

“We really haven’t been able to get him a lot of work that way,” Sparano said. “I really assess just the body of work over the 30 practices or so.

“From that standpoint, I’ve seen him progress really well.”

Heading into Saturday’s visit from Kansas City, Williams, 31, is listed No. 1 on the depth chart. Brown, 26, is unlikely to play.

Williams had 43 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown against the Jaguars and continues to position himself as the opening-day starter on Sept. 7 when the Jets visit South Florida.

“Ronnie is competing no different than anybody else,” Sparano said. “When you have Ronnie and Ricky, I think if you ask them that question, they’ll say, ‘Hey I want to be the guy who’s out there.’

“They’re both competing, and right now Ronnie’s not out there. He’s dealing with a thumb, and Ricky’s out there and that’s the way we go.”

Was, possibly may be one of the Best Offensive weapons. I sure hope so. He's still young and I'd hope at least our RB problems were over for a while. No way he gets traded though. No Team would spend what we paid for a repaired Back.

"The only way Jason Taylor doesn't play for the Dolphins in 2008 is if he retires. The team is not going to trade him." - Bill Parcells

Seriously, why bother even asking the question when you know you can't trust the answer?

I've said it before and I will say it again.

Ronnie Brown might not be around next year.

The Dolphins will draft a half-back and tight end in next years draft.

I would love to see what Ronnie could do in a Mike Shanahan, Mike McCarthy type offense. Brown is more suited to a West Coast offense that can showcase his receiving skills. Next to Michael Westbrook, he's got the best hands in the league as far as catching the ball and can actually run pass routes.

Parcells wants guys that they have scouted. Don't be surprised if Samson Satele walks in free agency too. Vernon Carey isn't playing with a contract so these guys could all be gone by next year.