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Call it a stalemate. A staring contest. A standoff. Whatever you want to call it, the Miami Dolphins and free agent fullback Vonta Leach seem to have been stuck at the same point for the last four weeks. Miami was the first, and only, team to host Leach on a free agent visit, bringing him to Davie the day after the Baltimore Ravens released him. Since then, it's been a lot of speculation and agent-speak, with no action.
The Dolphins want Leach. According to Leach's agent, Ralph Vitolo, Miami is the likely landing place for Leach. Yet, somehow, nothing is happening.
Welcome to veteran free agency just before the start of training camp.
At this point, the ball is in Leach's court. He wants to be paid a certain number. Clearly, no one has met that number yet. Not the Dolphins, and not any of the other teams thought to be in pursuit, including the Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, Houston Texans, and Kansas City Chiefs.
But, there's also the training camp piece of all of this. Leach is an eight year veteran fullback. He's not playing the most complicated position on the field. His job is to block, maybe sneak out into the flat for a pass, and once in a while take a handoff. It's something he could learn very quickly.
So, why not drag this out a little longer, and miss the early days of training camp?
I'm not saying this is what Leach is doing....but would it be surprising?
According to a series of tweets from the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero last night, the Dolphins have not officially made an offer to Leach. Vitolo and the team have discussed general parameters of a contract, but have not gotten specific. Meanwhile, the Ravens have an offer out there for Leach to return, but it's not the preferred deal for the three time All Pro.
Leach wants Miami. Miami wants Leach. But, the stalemate continues. Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland has shown over the past year that he does not blink very often. Will he have to in this case?