DaKCMan AP
01-23-2009, 07:28 AM
Some team, IMO, will overpay for him. He's a good, solid player but not worth a ton of $$.
Channing Crowder, other Dolphins to test free agent market
By Omar Kelly | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 22, 2009
MOBILE, Ala. - At the end of the season Channing Crowder apologized to the media for not being around much by joking he was busy using his lunch break to find a new job.
The Dolphins' four-year starter was hinting the only NFL team he's ever played for might not want him back, and he likely came to that conclusion based on the Dolphins' contract offer, one they haven't improved on, according to a source.
"I'm a system guy," Crowder said, referring to the way he's perceived by the team's front office. "Tackles are easy," Crowder said, referring to his career-high 119 tackles in 16 games. "You get paid off big plays. [I have] no big plays."
Crowder's prepared to discover if other teams disagree with the Dolphins' assessment and will offer him a contract that pays him like he's a starting linebacker when free agency opens Feb. 27.
All of the Dolphins' key free agents likely will take the same approach. The belief is that all five of the free agent starters — Crowder, right tackle Vernon Carey, cornerback Andre' Goodman and safeties Renaldo Hill and Yeremiah Bell — presently aren't getting the Dolphins' best offer.
"The players that we're negotiating with, they know where we stand on things," General Manager Jeff Ireland said. "I think the negotiations are going OK.
"They are not fast and furious right now, but they know were we stand, and there is good communication."
Drew Rosenhaus, the agent who represents Bell and Hill, said negotiations between teams looking to re-sign their own players typically heats up around the NFL combine, which begins Feb. 18.
"It's early. Real preliminary," Rosenhaus said of his discussions regarding Bell and Hill. "Right now we're feeling each other out."
The Dolphins may be waiting to determine the draft's depth at each position and gauge what free agents from other teams will hit the open market before locking down their own players.
This could be risky because an unplanned departure of any of the five starters could create another hole in the roster. But Ireland didn't seem concerned about letting the free agents test the market.
"I think it's certainly realistic that you can keep all of them," Ireland said. "It's also realistic that you could lose a couple of them, too."
Ireland also said he wasn't concerned about Bell, Hill and Goodman all being in their early 30s, despite this regime's intentions to make the roster younger.
"We're just looking for good football players. I think all those guys back there showed that they are still playing at a high level, so [their age] doesn't concern me," Ireland said. "Obviously we have to find good football players, and if they are 30 or 31, then that's what we're looking for."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-flspdolphins22sbjan22,0,194729.story
Channing Crowder, other Dolphins to test free agent market
By Omar Kelly | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 22, 2009
MOBILE, Ala. - At the end of the season Channing Crowder apologized to the media for not being around much by joking he was busy using his lunch break to find a new job.
The Dolphins' four-year starter was hinting the only NFL team he's ever played for might not want him back, and he likely came to that conclusion based on the Dolphins' contract offer, one they haven't improved on, according to a source.
"I'm a system guy," Crowder said, referring to the way he's perceived by the team's front office. "Tackles are easy," Crowder said, referring to his career-high 119 tackles in 16 games. "You get paid off big plays. [I have] no big plays."
Crowder's prepared to discover if other teams disagree with the Dolphins' assessment and will offer him a contract that pays him like he's a starting linebacker when free agency opens Feb. 27.
All of the Dolphins' key free agents likely will take the same approach. The belief is that all five of the free agent starters — Crowder, right tackle Vernon Carey, cornerback Andre' Goodman and safeties Renaldo Hill and Yeremiah Bell — presently aren't getting the Dolphins' best offer.
"The players that we're negotiating with, they know where we stand on things," General Manager Jeff Ireland said. "I think the negotiations are going OK.
"They are not fast and furious right now, but they know were we stand, and there is good communication."
Drew Rosenhaus, the agent who represents Bell and Hill, said negotiations between teams looking to re-sign their own players typically heats up around the NFL combine, which begins Feb. 18.
"It's early. Real preliminary," Rosenhaus said of his discussions regarding Bell and Hill. "Right now we're feeling each other out."
The Dolphins may be waiting to determine the draft's depth at each position and gauge what free agents from other teams will hit the open market before locking down their own players.
This could be risky because an unplanned departure of any of the five starters could create another hole in the roster. But Ireland didn't seem concerned about letting the free agents test the market.
"I think it's certainly realistic that you can keep all of them," Ireland said. "It's also realistic that you could lose a couple of them, too."
Ireland also said he wasn't concerned about Bell, Hill and Goodman all being in their early 30s, despite this regime's intentions to make the roster younger.
"We're just looking for good football players. I think all those guys back there showed that they are still playing at a high level, so [their age] doesn't concern me," Ireland said. "Obviously we have to find good football players, and if they are 30 or 31, then that's what we're looking for."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-flspdolphins22sbjan22,0,194729.story