Various Dolphins News & Notes

[DolFan619]

     Just some news from various outlets.  Enjoy!


Hadnot, Daniels cash in on bonuses

By Alex Marvez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted March 31 2006

 
Right guard/center Rex Hadnot and cornerback Travis Daniels were the big winners among Dolphins players rewarded under the NFL's performance-based pay system for last season.

Hadnot ($235,847) and Daniels ($212,069) were given the largest shares of the $2.481 million distribution pool divided among 56 Dolphins players. Performance-based pay is awarded from an NFL pool based upon a comparison of playing time to salary and doesn't count against the Dolphins' salary cap.
 
Hadnot's bonus ranked fourth among all NFL players behind Dallas tackle Rob Petitti ($271,287), Houston safety C.C. Brown ($251,593), and Detroit tackle Kelly Butler ($242,908). A second-year player who started all 16 games, Hadnot's base salary was $305,000.

Daniels, a rookie who became a starter in the Dolphins' third game, almost doubled his 2005 base salary of $230,000.

Free safety Yeremiah Bell ($140,018), middle linebacker Channing Crowder ($135,342) and wide receiver/returner Wes Welker ($129,556) were the other Dolphins players to receive six-figure bonuses. Reserve wide receiver Cliff Russell received the smallest bonus at $1,690.

The performance-based pay pool totaled more than $79 million in 2005. It will grow to about $96 million in 2006 and $100 million in 2007.
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Players visit

The Dolphins entertained Jacksonville safety Deke Cooper and Cincinnati running back Kenny Watson on free-agent visits Wednesday.

Cooper, who had 12 starts for Jacksonville last season, likely would compete with Bell for a starting free safety position if signed.

Watson was a third-down back and special teams player for the Bengals in 2004 but missed 15 games last season because of a torn biceps. It's questionable how much interest the Dolphins still have in Watson after tailback Sammy Morris agreed to return with a one-year contract.

Harrington deal faces obstacles
BY ARMANDO SALGUERO
asalguero@MiamiHerald.com

Even as the Dolphins were said to be preparing an offer for Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington, it seems circumstances might pull the team and the player further apart.

Harrington's agent has been told by the Bengals and Dolphins that a contract offer is forthcoming, according to a source close to Harrington. That is important because the player must agree to restructure the remaining two years of his current contract for the Lions to be able to trade him.

But there are also problems: Harrington is looking for a deal no longer than two years so he can have enough time to rehabilitate his career as a backup before seeking a starting job somewhere, and he is seeking between $2.5 million and $3 million per season to do it.

Neither Harrington nor the Lions are in a rush to get a deal done before June 15, when Detroit is scheduled to pay Harrington a $4 million bonus.

And that's bad news for Miami on several fronts.

The Dolphins' salary structure does not typically pay a backup quarterback more than $2 million and coach Nick Saban said this week that he would like Miami's backup quarterback on the roster by Monday, when on-field work begins in the team's conditioning program.

Although the Dolphins might be willing to trade one of their three seventh-round picks for Harrington, they cannot meet the higher demands the Lions are likely to make.

The Lions want no lower than a sixth-round selection for Harrington and are asking higher than that, according to an NFL source. Miami doesn't have a pick in the fifth or sixth round in the upcoming draft.

The Bengals have their full complement of draft picks and could make a trade with Detroit but might not be willing to pay Harrington's price.

That leaves open the door for other teams, particularly Kansas City, as possible destinations for Harrington.

The Chiefs have begun thinking about a successor to starter Trent Green and have told Harrington's agent that they would be in contact in the coming weeks once they study likely draft picks and other options.

David Dunn, who represents Harrington, also represents Kerry Collins and the source said Collins is willing to wait on a chance to compete for a starting job in Baltimore before deciding on a backup role elsewhere.

That could leave Miami revisiting the idea of adding former Pittsburgh quarterback Tommy Maddox.

SCOUTING BIG MEN

With Sam Adams off the list of possibilities because he has agreed to a contract with the Bengals, Miami is paying closer scrutiny to the draft class of defensive tackles.

The club has closely studied players such as Michigan's Gabe Watson and Oregon's Haloti Ngata. But the team is also trying to look for talent at such improbable places as Texas State University.

The Dolphins sent defensive line coach Dan Quinn there to work out defensive tackle Fred Evans. Quinn had dinner with Evans the night before the workout and, after the workout, asked the player to perform several drills privately.

Evans, at 6-3 and 305 pounds, ran a 5.12 40-yard time and had a 34-inch vertical leap.

PROSPECTS TO VISIT

The Dolphins have invited more than two dozen college players with local ties to visit their training facility.

Among those who are expected to attend are: Bowling Green quarterback Omar Jacobs, who is from Delray Beach, Auburn receiver Devin Aromashodu, who played at Miami Springs High, UM receiver Sinorice Moss and Hurricanes defensive tackle Orien Harris.



Arrington still in the mix
By Jeff Darlington

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Although the free-agent market has slowed considerably in the past several days, some major players still remain available — a few of whom could end up with the Dolphins.

Linebacker LaVar Arrington, perhaps the most notable, has yet to sign with any of the four teams that remain interested in him. He likely will end up with the Dolphins, Giants, Jaguars or Bengals, agent Carl Poston said.
 
Much like the contract signed by linebacker Julian Peterson, however, a deal could come at any time.

"That's just the way this business goes," Poston said. "You never know when something will get done."

Saban clears up Mare salary status
BY JASON COLE
jcole@MiamiHerald.com

Coach Nick Saban said the Dolphins have not asked kicker Olindo Mare to take a pay cut but are trying to ''restructure'' his contract so he can finish his career in Miami.

''We have some players that have made a tremendous contribution to the tradition of the Miami Dolphins organization, and in years past, in a different system, those guys could play and end their career with that team,'' Saban said.

``I guess what we're trying to do is develop some kind of strategy that would allow some of the players on our team right now to have an exit strategy in terms of their contract so they could guarantee themselves an opportunity to be Miami Dolphins the rest of their pro career, and in doing that not make them sacrifice a tremendous amount relative to what's fair and what they earn. So if Olindo is saying in the paper [that he has been asked to take a pay cut], he shouldn't be. He swears to me he's not, but I know it keeps ending up in the paper.''

Mare is set to have a base salary of $1.4 million this year.

 
 

[YoFuggedaboutit]

Enjoyed the read, good post.  In regards to Hadnot and Daniels, I think that new performance based pool is a very good incentive for players who make the league minimum or close to it but end up as full-time starters. 

[fyo]

Hadnot must be pleased. A $235,847 bonus on a $305,000 salary. Nice.

[Sunstroke]

The part of that article that made me smile the most... Omar Jacobs being invited to Miami for a predraft workout. I have been very impressed with Omar in all the offseason workouts so far, and think he'd make a great late round developmental QB to groom behind Daunte...especially since he has a similar QB style as Daunte.