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Here are all the pro football transactions involving former Miami Dolphins players from November 2010:
Nov. 2 — The Houston Texans waived defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dolphins in 2000, Ogunleye pla…
Heading into the NFL 2009-2010 offseason, the Chicago Bears looked lost and hopeless in what seemed destined to become a long, saddened few months.
Despite the 2009 downfall, Chicago looks to be right back in the running after an offseason filled of widespread happiness from signings.
And a few more moments of disappointment .
Even with the signings of former North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers and the reacquiring of Chris Harris, I’m not fully satisfied.
Did Chicago exceed expectations with these signings? Yeah, of course.
Did I intend that Bears’ general manager, Jerry Angelo, would release long-time leaders and consistent defensive ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown? No way.
Alex Brown, former No. 96 for the Chicago Bears, now representing the 96 for the reigning champion New Orleans Saints, is by no means the flashiest end or a huge pass-rusher like Julius Peppers, but he certainly gets the job more than done and has the ever-dying leadership traits that many younger players weren’t born with.
Brown, 31, has never had above 7 sacks a season—but averages around 35+ tackles per year including batted balls, great special teams play, and above all; a locker room influence.
The Florida Gator product is a living example of consistency , the ability to stay healthy , focus , determination , and leadership .
The above words are also embodied in another victim of Jerry Angelo and the Chicago Bears’ cheapness: Adewale Ogunleye.
“‘Wale” is a seasoned veteran of the gridiron, and more of a sack machine than overall defensive end compared to Brown. The two, in my mind, coupled for a great pair of ends which balanced out.
The reasoning of this is because Alex was more fit as a run-stopping defensive end, while Adewale’s job was to just get to the quarterback.
Overall, Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown were a great pair of defensive ends and better yet, football players for the Chicago Bears. In my opinion, the reason Ogunleye wasn’t tendered to is because Chicago wanted to move on and grab Julius Peppers.
Peppers is an amazing defensive end, no doubt. I have no reason to criticize him. My main focus is that Angelo screwed Chicago over and this could’ve been dealt with in a better, more clean manner.
Instead of overpaying a top defensive end going into his 30s, why not keep Brown and Ogunleye who are older, yes, but have more chemistry and combine to create a pair in which each has different skill sets?
This would have cost less money in the long and short term, you wouldn’t have two defensive ends who are exactly the same except one is older and better, and you could spend money on a secondary that was burned all year in 2009. Or, an ideal situation…
Sign Ogunleye to a two-year deal, move up in the draft to sign a good, young, prospect of a lineman.
Think about it…the Bears line was absolutely horrid last year. Yes, they came together in the final few games of the season, but a young prospect to eventually take the torch from Kreutz or Garza with a few years under his belt sounds great to me.
Then, you draft Major Wright. That pick was amazing, as Wright is a humbled young man who wants to play…but it seems as if the Bears and Lovie are screwing that up already by moving Chris Harris to strong-side safety and Danieal Manning at free safety.
Regardless, this was a good offseason by the Chicago Bears.
But, it could have been a perfect offseason if it had not been for the lack of success from Jerry Angelo and the Bears the past few years, and Chicago didn’t resort back to their cheap ways.
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Fans and pundits alike knew that free agency in an uncapped year had the potential to be a spending madhouse, and owners have yet to disappoint on that front.
In the first week end of free agency, the NFL saw Leonard Weaver become the highest-paid fullback in NFL history, Julius Peppers snag a guaranteed $42m from the Bears, and Nate Burleson—yes, the Nate Burleson who averages 43 catches, 581 yards and a handful of touchdowns per full season—set the bar at receiver with his five-year, $25m deal.
So much for a market one NFL executive described as “the old, the injured and the unwanted,” eh?
But just because marginal players are getting exorbitant money doesn’t mean that it won’t work the other way around. There are still bargains out there, they just need to be properly indentified and underpaid as such.
Before the start of free agency, I identified a list of the Top 5 Potential Free Agent Bargains.
Already, two of them are off the board. While one wasn’t so much of a bargain (Texans WR Kevin Walter re-upped in Houston to the tune of four years, $21.5m) the other was in theory.
Sure, the Bears gave Chester Taylor $12.5m over four years (or an average of $4.125m per), but $7m of that is guaranteed over the first year—meaning Chicago’s only on the hook for about $1.75m per over the final three.
It’s going to be feast or famine out there, but for what they can give vs. what they will make, these 10 players are quite possibly the biggest “bargains” a team can find at their respective positions.
NOTE: Much like my previous slideshow, this will only look at unrestricted free agents or outright releases. Even if a team gets a “bargain” on a restricted free agent, they’ll have to give up a draft pick to do it—which kind of negates the savings.
I’m back again with my Miami Dolphins Alumni Update for December 2009. Here are all of this past month’s pro football transactions involving ex-Dolphins players. Enjoy!
- 12/1 — The Atlanta Falcons signed placekicker Matt Bryant to their active roster. Bryant went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts and seven-for-seven on extra-point attempts in three games with the Dolphins during the 2004 season.
- 12/1 — The Cleveland Browns released wide receiver James Robinson from their practice squad. Robinson spent part of the 2009 preseason with the Dolphins and was on the team’s practice squad until his release on Nov. 4.
- 12/1 — The San Diego Chargers signed defensive end Derrick Jones to their practice squad. Jones spent part of October 2009 on the Dolphins’ practice squad.
- 12/1 — The Carolina Panthers placed linebacker Kelvin Smith on injured reserve with a knee injury. The Dolphins’ seventh-round pick in 2007, Smith played in four games for the Dolphins as a rookie and spent the entire 2008 season with the team on injured reserve with a knee injury.
- 12/2 — The New York Jets promoted tight end Matthew Mulligan to their active roster from the practice squad. Mulligan signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2008. He failed to make the active roster following the preseason and was on the team’s practice squad until being released Nov. 5 of that year.
- 12/2 — The Philadelphia Eagles signed cornerback Chris Roberson to their practice squad. Roberson spent part of the 2008 preseason with the Dolphins.
- 12/7 — The Cleveland Browns signed defensive end Derreck Robinson to their active roster. Robinson played in seven games and recorded five tackles as a reserve defensive end for the Dolphins in 2007.
- 12/8 — The Atlanta Falcons signed tight end Jason Rader to their active roster. Rader spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons between the Dolphins’ practice squad and active roster, appearing in five games and starting one in 2006.
- 12/8 — The Cincinnati Bengals released safety Brannon Condren from their practice squad. Condren spent nearly a month with the Dolphins between October and November 2008, appearing in four games and recording three special teams tackles before his release.
- 12/8 — The New Orleans Saints waived fullback Kyle Eckel. Eckel was under contract with the Dolphins from Sept. 2005 to Sept. 2007, but did not see game action as he was on the Reserve/Military list for the majority of that time.
- 12/8 — The Washington Redskins signed wide receiver James Robinson to their practice squad.
- 12/11 — The Arizona Cardinals signed linebacker Mark Washington to their practice squad. Washington played in three games and recorded one tackle for the Dolphins during the 2007 season.
- 12/14 — The Carolina Panthers waived linebacker Kelvin Smith from injured reserve.
- 12/14 — The Detroit Lions released linebacker Danny Lansanah from their practice squad. Lansanah spent most of September on the Dolphins’ practice squad.
- 12/22 — The Buffalo Bills signed quarterback Gibran Hamdan to their active roster. Hamdan spent the 2007 offseason and preseason with the Dolphins before his released on Sept. 1.
- 12/23 — The Kansas City Chiefs signed wide receiver Chandler Williams to their practice squad. Williams spent the entire 2007 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad and was re-signed in the 2008 offseason before being waived that April.
- 12/24 — The New York Jets signed safety Brannon Condren to their practice squad.
- 12/25 — The Oakland Raiders promoted fullback Marcel Reece from their practice squad to the active roster. A college wide receiver, Reece signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in April 2008, but was waived less than week later on May 5.
- 12/26 — The Chicago Bears placed defensive end Adewale Ogunleye on injured reserve. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dolphins in 2000, Ogunleye played three seasons and led the AFC with 15 sacks on his way to a Pro Bowl selection in 2003. He was traded to the Bears in August 2004 for wide receiver Marty Booker.
- 12/26 — The Cleveland Browns promoted linebacker Titus Brown from their practice squad to the active roster. Brown signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2008, but failed to make the team.
- 12/30 — The Green Bay Packers promoted defensive tackle Anthony Toribio from their practice squad to the active roster. Toribio was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and spent part of that regular season on the team’s practice squad.
- 12/30 — The St. Louis Rams signed guard Mark Lewis to the practice squad. Lewis was signed by the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and spent part of the season on the team’s practice squad.
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