Rookie Contracts

News came out last week that the Dolphins came to terms with rookie wide receiver Patrick Turner and linebacker J.D. Folsom. This is great that Patrick Turner will be in camp for day one as he will need to be in order to compete for a starting role. While, this still may be a long shot, it will be awfully tempting to put him in the game when the offense is getting close to the red zone, with his 6-5 frame. With this encouraging news about Turner's contract, we are also reminded about the contracts of those rookies still not signed.

The Dolphins top three picks Vontae Davis, Pat White, and Sean Smith all remain unsigned. It would be nice to have Pat White get signed and in camp to have Miami start experimenting ways that he can be utilized and to get a look at how he can play the actual position of quarterback in pre-season games. I think we all can't wait to see an athlete like White on the field, however the contracts of Davis and Smith are much more important. Here are two guys who were drafted to and expected to come in and make an imediate impact. The Dolphins secondary was the biggest weakness on this roster and it can be argued that if Davis and Smith turn out to be great shutdown guys this defense can reach a dominate level. That may be wishful thinking but if they don't get signed before camp and hold out into camp this secondary might be worst off than last season headed into the first game. With the loss of probably there best corner from last year, Andre Goodman, to free agency the Dolphins will be counting on these rookies to replace him and hopefully eventually be an upgrade. So, it is vitally important to get these guys in camp and playing in all of the pre-season games. Pre-season games get a bad wrap but rookies Davis and Smith will likely need all of them to adjust to the speed of the NFL game and be comfortable enough to make an impact week one.

Having said all of this, it is not even close to panic time yet. There is still a month before camp and there is no speculation of any hold-outs or negotiations hitting a wall, I am just stating how important it is to get these guys signed and ready for day one. I think Parcells and Ireland should have earned are trust by now and both know how important these kids will be in our AFC East title defense, so I would count on a deal getting done for both in the near future.

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