Here's what you may have missed this weekend while you were out and about (or while you were paying close attention to the NCAA conference tournaments and the selection show):
RONNIE BROWN REHAB NEWS
The best news any Dolphin fan could have heard about anything recently is the news that Ronnie Brown's agent, Todd France, supplied us with over the weekend:
Many have questioned why the Dolphins simply let Jesse Chatman walk away and why Miami hasn't gone after any other running backs. Well I think now we have a clue. But, really, I don't think anyone will be really surprised to hear about Ronnie's recovery. He's got a great work ethic and is young enough to effectively bounce back from this injury. However, I would not push him and force him onto the field before he is ready. With that said, though, it'll probably be hard to keep him off the field once camp does roll around because of the kind of player and person Ronnie is.
FINS SIGN TAB PERRY
The special teams upgrades continued this weekend with the signing of WR Tab Perry. This signing is an interesting one, though, because of the fact that Perry is a solid kickoff return man. He set a Bengals franchise record as a rookie with 1,562 kickoff return yards as a rookie back in 2005. So now the question becomes what this means for Ted Ginn.
One theory is that Perry will act as the 2nd return man on the field with Teddy (if Perry makes the team). Another theory is that the Dolphins want Ginn to focus more on becoming the #1 wide receiver and they will hope for Perry to earn a job as the team's primary kick returner. But if you ask me, I don't think we should read too much into this signing just yet. We all know that Bill Parcells likes to have competition at every position, and kick returner is not exempt from that. Also keep in mind that Perry is injury prone, though his agent claims he is now 100% healthy. I think this will be something to certainly keep an eye on once the mini-camps come rolling around. If Perry fails to produce as a receiver, I think it would be hard for him to make the team strictly as a kick returner.
AS JASON TURNS
It seems like this story will just never die. Every week, somebody says or does something to make headlines yet again. Of course I'm talking about the Jason Taylor saga. Will he or won't he be in Miami next season? According to Taylor, who spoke on Sirius NFL Radio, he will be:
"I've not talked to [Bill] Parcells at all or the GM (Jeff Ireland) over there. I have talked to Coach Sparano. Matter of fact, I'm going to call him here when I get done with you guys and just check in a little bit. I guess that baseball hasn't started yet and the NBA season must not be providing much entertainment `cause people are just making stuff up."
It still puzzles me that nobody in Miami's front office has spoken with Jason, especially considering he's the leader of this team. But he does speak with Tony Sparano, and that's a good sign.
In my opinion, though, I still do think Taylor will be traded prior to the 2008 season. Will it be by draft day? I'd say it's likely, but you never know. Taylor, himself, wouldn't even rule out a trade. Here's how he responded to a question about Jason Cole's report:
You got to love JT's fire. But right there, he does say that it's possible something happens in the future. And I'd bet that Taylor knows a little bit more about what's going on than he's leading us to believe. When all is said and done, though, it just makes too much sense for the Dolphins not to trade him. And as painful as it will be to not only lose Zach Thomas but also Jason Taylor in a single offseason, it is probably in the best interest of the franchise to make the move and then move on.
Thoughts on any or all of this below...