*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Aug 26, 1997: -- Practice Squad Announced --
The Dolphins announced today that they have signed quarterback
Damon Huard, safety Earl Little, fullback Ray Nealy, wide receiver
Jasper Strong and guard Randy Wheeler to the practice squad. All 5 of
these players were with the team for most of training camp.
Also in the news, the Dolphins cut offensive guard John Elmore
and in his place claimed offensive tackle Andre Johnson off waivers
from the Washington Redskins. Johnson, at 6'5" and 315 pounds, played
against the Dolphins last Thursday night.
Johnson was a first round pick of the Redskins last year, but
was inactive for every game of the 1996 season and the Redskins cut
him following training camp this year. He played his college ball at
Penn State.
In other news, the Miami Herald and ESPN are reporting today
that the Dolphins might be interested in acquiring linebacker Kevin
Greene, who was waived this week by the Carolina Panthers. Greene
lead the league in quarterback sacks last year, and is known primarily
as a pass rusher.
This summer, Greene held out from Panther's training camp in a
contract dispute. Even though Greene was under contract, he wanted a
better deal from the Panthers and so held out. The Panthers responded
by cutting him this week after fining him over $270,000.
My Comments:
No surprises on the practice squad, really. JJ was supposed
to be impressed with Ray Nealy early in the year and Huard beat out
Fischer in the quarterback duel, but there is nothing else significant
there.
Signing Andre Johnson is a big surprise to me, considering how
much of a disappointment he's been to the Redskins and how badly he
seemed to play on Thursday. Still, if nothing else, he's bigger than
Elmore. And maybe JJ saw some potential there while studying the game
films of last Thursday.
The big question this week, of course, is whether or not the
Dolphins should go after Kevin Greene. Right now, the team with the
inside edge on signing Greene is Cincinnatti, because they have more
cap money available and because they play a defense of the type that
allows Greene to excel.
The bottom line, though, is that Greene is a pass rusher and
that's about it. Now, he's a damn good pass rusher, but he wouldn't be
a replacement for any of the linebackers currently on the team. JJ's
linebackers have to tackle running backs and cover receivers. Because
Greene isn't very good at that, he would more likely take the place of
one of the veteran defensive ends - either Stubbs or Armstrong.
However, the most likely scenario is that Greene will sign
with the Bengals, since his main interest seems to be money. Why else
would he hold out from a contender in the NFC?
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
[email protected], DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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