Free agency begins tonight and there are already a lot of rumors flying. Below are the latest.
Karlos Dansby
The National Football Post reported around 4:30 today that free agent linebacker Karlos Dansby is boarding a plane tonight that is arriving in South Florida. The report says:
The word the National Football Post picked up this afternoon is that the linebacker, who will become a free agent in a little less than eight hours, is boarding a plane for the Miami area in, well, a little less than eight hours.
That would conveniently place Dansby in Miami around midnight tonight - when free agency officially begins. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or it could be a positive sign of things to come on Friday.
However, the Miami Herald is disputing this report. Jeff Darlington has been told from sources that Dansby is not planning a flight to South Florida right now:
Darlington is hearing from a source that is refuting a report in the National Football Post that said Dansby was flying to Miami Thursday evening...The truth is Dansby doesn't have to be in South Florida to be signed by the Dolphins. These things often get done on the phone with the agent. And if a contract agreement is reached, the player can sign the deal and fax it back to the team.
My initial reaction could be that the Dolphins leaked this info to Darlington with two things in mind. One - to help the Dolphins avoid any possible tampering charges. And two - as a smokescreen. We already know that this front office wants no leaks at all. So this "leak" to Darlington could be their way of covering up the initial leak to the NFP.
The NY Daily News, meanwhile, is reporting that the Giants are not expected to get into the Dansby bidding - meaning there's one less potential suitor in the running for Dansby's servcies.
Chad Pennington
Perhaps more surprising than the Dansby rumor is a rumor courtesy of the Palm Beach Post that claims a league source has been told that the Dolphins are "expected" to re-sign veteran quarterback Chad Pennington:
A deal isn’t yet in place and Pennington is set to become a free agent at midnight, but "barring something crazy" he will be back in Miami, the source said.
It's not even midnight, folks, and the rumors are flying. Stay with us all night tonight - well into the night - for all of the latest on these reports and any others that could possibly pop up.