Trades

  Samson Satele

22 Mar 2009: Several media sources are reporting that the Dolphins have traded C Samson Satele to the Raiders for a late round draft pick, probably a 7th rounder. Satele was thought to be the foundation for a new offensive line when he was acquired by Cam Cameron in the 2nd round of the 2007 draft. He started every game he played in Miami, but after an impressive rookie season, he suffered from a sophomore slump in 2008 and had trouble with the bigger nose tackles he was forced to face, especially Kris Jenkins of the Jets and Vince Wolfork of the Patriots. The first sign that he might not last in Miami was when the Dolphins brought in Al Johnson in the middle of last season. Even though Johnson was brand new to the Dolphins (and was since let go in free agency), he almost immediately began sharing time with Satele at center. The signing of Jake Grove and Joe Berger over the last few weeks made Satele an unwanted spare part.

  Tony McDaniel

20 Mar 2009: The Dolphins have announced that they have aquired DT Tony McDaniel in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. McDaniel is a 4 year veteran who has been a backup for the Jacksonville Jaguars for his entire career, playing behind John Henderson, one of the better defensive tackles in the game. An impressive physical specimen at 6'7" and 310 pounds, McDaniel has not been able to break the starting lineup and the Jaguars have given up on him. He was reportedly traded for a 7th round draft pick in this year's draft. The change of team may allow him to develop, but he will most likely be a backup this season.

Non-Dolphins Free Agents

Free Agents Signed from other NFL teams

Eric Green

12 Mar 2009: Green signed with the Dolphins. Eric Green has been the starting cornerback for the Cardinals for most of the last 4 years, although he has been rotated in and out of the starting lineup and hasn't play a full 16 games in any of those seasons. Last year, he started out as the starting cornerback, but after being injured, was replaced by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. His stats are ordinary for a starting cornerback and he has had only 2 interceptions in his four years in the league. While the Dolphins do have an opening for a starting cornerback, Green does not seem to be someone that would add anything to the team.

Jake Grove

3 Mar 2009: The Dolphins have announced the signing of former Raiders' center Jake Grove. The deal is reported to be for 5 years and $29 million with $14 million in guaranteed money . Jake Grove has been the Raiders' starting center since he was a rookie in 2004. He has a reputation for being a physical player with a nasty streak, but has had trouble staying healthy for an entire season. Since he was a rookie, the only season he played a full year was in 2004. Still, the Dolphins are obviously in the market for a center and apparently think Grove might be the guy. Also, the signing of Grove effectively ends the search for offensive linemen for the free agency period and reduces the possibility the Dolphins will spend a high draft pick on an offensive lineman.

Joe Berger

27 Feb 2009: The team has announced that Joe Berger has signed with the Dolphins . The deal is reported to be for 3 years. Joe Berger was originally drafted by the Panthers in the 6th round of the 2005 draft and acquired by the Dolphins that summer. He was on Miami's roster for two years before being snatched off the practice squad by Dallas in November of 2006. At the time, his position coach was Tony Sparano, who worked with him in 2006 and 2007. He will immediately be in the backup rotation at offensive guard and could compete with Samson Satele for the starting center job.

Gibril Wilson

26 Feb 2009: The team has announced that Gibril Wilson has signed with the Dolphins . The deal is reported to be for 5 years and $27.5 million with $8 million guaranteed. After Yeremiah Bell, Wilson was considered to be one of the top safeties available in free agency. After spending his first 4 years with the New York Giants, where he started every game he was available since his rookie year and won a SuperBowl ring, Wilson was signed by the Raiders last season to a big contract. However, despite ranking 2nd on the squad with 129 tackles and 2 interceptions, the Raiders were reportedly disappointed in his performance defending against the run and cut him in a salary cap move just before free agency started this week. The Dolphins wasted no time in signing him and it appears that, along with Yeremiah Bell, he will provide the Dolphins with one of the hardest hitting safety tandems in the league in 2009

Other Free Agents Signed

Free Agents Visiting With Dolphins

  Demarcus Faggins

18 Mar 2009: The Dolphins reported that they have had free agent CB Demarcus Faggins in for a visit. Faggins is a 7 year veteran who has spent his entire career with the Houston Texans, rotating in and out of the starting lineup. He has 216 tackles and 5 interceptions in his 7 years with the Texans, but has never been a consistently top performer. While he might bring some veteran experience to the depth chart, he would probably not be a starter and his age suggests that the Dolphins would not be willing to pay much for him.

De'Cody Fagg

5 Mar 2009: The Sun-Sentinel reported that De'Cody Fagg worked out for Miami this week, but was not offered a contract - yet. De'Cody Fagg was a top NFL prospect until he tore the ACL in his left knee at the NFL combine in 2008. As a senior at FSU, he 54 passes for 758 yards and 5 touchdowns, but the injury at the combine sidelined him for what would have been his rookie year. As a prospect, he was marked high on many draft boards and physically, he would bring size and speed to the Dolphins' receiving corps. A lot will depend on how well he has recovered.

Rumor Mill

Marvin Harrison

27 Feb 2009: Numerous websites are reporting that the Dolphins might be interested in Harrison. Harrison is a future Hall-of-Famer who has been the cornerstone of the Colts' passing offense for most of the last 13 seasons. However, at 36 years old, Harrison is nearing the end of his career and his last two seasons have seen serious drop-offs in his production. Despite the Dolphins' need to find a starting wide receiver, Harrison is not the type of player that Parcells and Ireland are likely to sign. Parcells and company prefer younger, cheaper players with a lot years left to play.

  Laveranues Coles

5 Mar 2009: Coles signs with the Bengals. Coles has been a thorn in the Dolphins' side for many years and was a favorite target and personal friend of Chad Pennington. Coles - like Harrison - is on the downside of his career and does not have the burning speed to roast opposing defenses any more. Without that speed, Coles is just an average receiver and wants too much money for the Dolphins to sign.

  Bryant McFadden

9 Mar 2009: McFadden signed with the Cardninals. McFadden is a 4 year veteran and was one of the starting cornerbacks for the Steelers last season. He is good sized for a cornerback at 6-0 and 190 pounds and did start the SuperBowl last year. His career has been mixed, having been a starter in 2006 and 2008, but was relegated to backup status in 2007. He might be a decent replacement for Andre' Goodman.

Dolphins Free Agents

Dolphins Re-Signed Free Agents:

Yeremiah Bell

26 Feb 2009: The team has announced that Yeremiah Bell has been re-signed by the Dolphins . The deal is reported to be for 4 years for a potential $20 million with $10 million guaranteed. Bell was initially drafted in 2003 by Dave Wannstedt, despite missing his senior year of college football with an injury. Since that time he has gradually worked his way up the roster until he started all 16 games last year and lead the defense with 120 tackles, 1 sack and 10 passes defensed. He was considered to be one the top free agents safeties this winter, but the Dolphins managed to land him just before free agency officially started.

Channing Crowder

25 Feb 2009: The team has announced that Channing Crowder has been re-signed by the Dolphins . The deal is reported to be for 3 years with undisclosed terms. When Channing Crowder was drafted in the second round in Nick Saban in 2005, he was designated as the heir-apparent to Zach Thomas and gave an impressive showing as a rookie backup. Zach hang on for 3 years after Crowder was drafted, but last season, Crowder took over at starting inside linebacker. In that role, we was second on the team in tackles behind Yeremiah Bell with 113 was an important part of Miami's defense. Coach Tony Sparano said that Channing Crowder "loved" to play football and was always smiling during practice and games, constantly providing a positive influence on the team.

Vernon Carey

20 Feb 2009: The team has announced that Carey has been re-signed by the Dolphins . The deal is reported to be for 6 years, with $15 million guaranteed and a potential payout of $42 million. Vernon Carey was originally drafted in 2004 at number 19 in the first round by Dave Wannstedt. He is the only player in that draft that is still on the team and has started every game for the last 3 years at either left or right tackle. Locking up Carey for the next 6 years solidifies the outside of Miami's offensive line and the team's willingness to open their wallet for him means Tony Sparano's opinion of Carey must be very high.

Dolphins Unrestricted Free Agents:

  Al Johnson

16 Mar 2009: Signed with the Patriots. Johnson was signed last fall to fill in for a depleted offensive line. He was a former starter at center for Parcells and Sparano in Dallas in 2004 and 2005, but was beaten out for the starting job in 2006. In 2007, he started at center for the Cardinals but was injured and placed on the Cardinals' reserve list at the beginning of 2008, before being cut. He did get some playing time at the end of 2008, but apparently did not do enough to warrant re-signing before free agency began. With the signing of Jake Grove and Joe Berger, Johnson almost certainly won't be back.

Derek Smith

27 Feb 2009: Declared a free agent. Smith was signed in the middle of last season after injuries to the defense left the Dolphins thin at linebacker on the depth chart. Smith had been one of the premier linebackers in the league for most of his 12 year career, starting for the Redskins and 49ers in 11 of those 12 years. However, he is clearly at the end of his career and will not be back.

Tab Perry

27 Feb 2009: Declared a free agent. Perry was signed last off-season based mostly on size and potential. He had been on the Bengals' roster for 3 years before being released, but hadn't managed to complete a full season since he was a rookie in 2005. Last season, he was injured in training camp and never saw the field.

  Andre' Goodman

1 Mar 2009: Goodman agreed to a deal with the Denver Broncos. Goodman was signed by the Dolphins after the 2005 season as a free agent from Detroit. He was a starter in 2006 and 2008, while a combination of injuries and personnel rotation kept him out of the starting job in 2007. In 2008, he put together an excellent season, making a number of high-profile plays in critical situations and finishing the year with 19 passes defensed and 5 interceptions, along with his 39 tackles. He is a strong player that the team would do well to retain, but the Dolphins have not made a strong attempt to re-sign him in the off-season and his performance from last season will probably take him away from Miami.

  Renaldo Hill

27 Feb 2009: Hill signed with the Broncos. Hill was picked up from the Raiders after the 2005 season and has been a starter for most of the time he's been healthy. At the beginning of this season, he was relegated to backup status until he recovered fully from last season's injury and when he returned to the lineup, the secondary dramatically improved. He had 77 tackles this year, along with 4 passes defensed and 3 interceptions. He was considered to be one of the cornerstones of the defense last season, but when the Dolphins signed the younger, bigger Gibril Wilson, Hill has become expendable. It seems unlikely that the Dolphins will re-sign Hill for anything more than backup money and that will probably spell the end of his time with Miami.

Dolphins Restricted Free Agents:

Dolphins Exclusive Rights Free Agents:

Aaron Halterman

27 Feb 2009: Declared a free agent with no qualifying offer from the Dolphins. Halterman started his career with the Texans in 2005 as an undrafted rookie. From there he bounced to the Dolphins, Chargers, Colts and back to Miami. He has had a few promising moments in the pre-season, but spent 2008 on IR. The Dolphins did not tender him an offer as an exclusive rights free agent, so he almost certainly won't be back.