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Miami Dolphins Training Camp 2012 - The Final Countdown

Miami Dolphins rookie tight end Michael Egnew is one of the three rookies still unsigned for the Dolphins.
Miami Dolphins rookie tight end Michael Egnew is one of the three rookies still unsigned for the Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins are now just one day away from the start of their 2012 training camp. That means, in just 24 hours, news and stories coming out of Miami will no longer be made up entertainment, but will once again become football related stories. However, before we can focus on actual football, the Dolphins still have unfinished business to which they have to attend.

Currently, there are three rookie still unsigned within the AFC East - all with the Dolphins. Currently, there is only one first round quarterback still unsigned - also in Miami. There are five total first round picks still unsigned - with the Dolphins making up 20% of that total.

First round pick, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and the team's two third round selections, tight end Michael Egnew and defensive end Olivier Vernon, all remain unsigned, despite the Dolphins being so close to training camp.

In the time of a set rookie wage scale, signing the three remaining Dolphins players should not be an issue. The hang ups all have to be with the "offset" language. Essentially, these are the extra pieces surrounding the actually salary. For example, in the Washington Redskins' negotiations with second overall pick Robert Griffin III, the holdup was what would happen to guaranteed money, should the Redskins release Griffin, and he sign with a new team. The Redskins wanted the money they owe him to be able to subtract out his salary from the new team, while RG3 wanted the two hypothetical contracts to have no tie to each other - the Redskins would owe him the full amount of the guarantee, with the other team's money being new money.

There's obviously still time for the Dolphins to complete the deals with all three players, and they could even continue negotiations into Thursday, so long as the players are signed in time for the first practice on Friday. However, until the ink is on the contract, fans will continue to wonder why the three rookies remain away from the team.

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