According to the Miami Herald, Tony Sparano has confirmed from Indianapolis that the Dolphins will not use the fracnhise tag on any of their free agents:
Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, speaking with the media at the Indy Combine, just confirmed the Dolphins will not franchise either right tackle Vernon Carey or strong safety Yeremiah Bell today. And, as we know, none of the other Miami free agents are going to carry a franchise tag either.
Seeing as Jordan Gross has signed a long-term deal with the Panthers, Vernon Carey will now become the best tackle on the free agent market if the Dolphins don't get a deal done with him by next Friday. Yeremiah Bell stands to be the best available safety on the open market if he doesn't re-sign by next Friday as well.
I don't like the idea of more holes being created on this roster when there were enough already. But I respect the front office for not simply caving in to their players' demands.
Your thoughts?
**UPDATE 7:00 pm**: ESPN is already thinking Vernon Carey is going to get a lot of interest - mentioning both the Bears and Vikings as teams potentially interested in him. And remember, Minnesota's VP of Player Personnel is Rick Spielman - who drafted Carey back in '04 when he was running the Dolphins.