| DaKCMan AP |
02-23-2009 07:35 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP
(Post 5494729)
I think he'd be a good fit at RT...as long as he doesn't want LT money. I still see him sticking in Miami. He was born there, grew up there and went to school there.
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Right again, as usual:
Quote:
Miami Dolphins right tackle Vernon Carey gets big contract
Miami acted to solidify its offensive line and solved an immediate roster concern, signing Vernon Carey to a six-year, $42 million deal.
BY JEFF DARLINGTON
[email protected]
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Dolphins' homegrown offensive tackle can cancel the moving truck. Miami native Vernon Carey isn't going anywhere.
In a move expected to solidify the bookends of the team's offensive line for several seasons, while also immediately alleviating a considerable roster concern, Carey signed a six-year contract worth $42 million Friday.
This, in general, can be considered a safe move for both Carey and the team.
Projected to hit free agency as one of the top tackles on the market, Carey always has favored staying home rather than leaving. He was born in Miami, attended high school at Miami Northwestern and starred at the University of Miami.
Even if he potentially could have earned more by sparking a bidding war when free agency begins next week (his contract is still extremely competitive), a lack of a state income tax and a chance to stay home surely were major benefits to staying.
For the Dolphins, the ability to keep Carey, 27, gets the team out of a potentially dicey situation moving forward. The free agent market for tackles is very thin, and it would be a gamble to draft an unknown rookie with the assumption he could start immediately.
On Wednesday, several potential free agent options (including Carolina's Jordan Gross and Pittsburgh's Max Starks) were locked into deals with their current teams -- not only limiting the available options at the position but also increasing the cost of other tackles.
But beyond the short-term benefits, it is clear the Dolphins still are confident in Carey's long-term potential, even if he has yet to reach a Pro Bowl since being drafted with a first-round pick in 2004.
Had the Dolphins simply wanted short-term relief, they could have placed a franchise tag on Carey a day earlier, paying him $8.45 million for one year of service. Instead, they will pay him an average of $7 million annually over the length of his deal.
Because of the length of the deal -- as opposed to a one-year franchise situation -- Miami also will no longer need to consider using a critical draft pick on a tackle, who would have to develop into Carey's successor.
Carey's move to right tackle last season in the wake of Jake Long's arrival proved to be a success, meaning the coaching staff can focus on developing the four-year veteran who is still young enough to be playing at a high level at the end of this contract.
Carey becomes just the third player, joining running back Patrick Cobbs and wide receiver Greg Camarillo, to receive a multiyear contract extension under the Dolphins' new regime.
Now, the Dolphins will shift their focus toward four other players scheduled to hit free agency Feb. 27. Safeties Yeremiah Bell and Renaldo Hill, cornerback Andre' Goodman and linebacker Channing Crowder have yet to agree to new deals.
Negotiations with those players -- including Goodman -- are ongoing, but at least Crowder is expected to test the waters of free agency in an effort to see whether he can garner a bigger contract than Miami is currently offering him.
Coach Tony Sparano would not address those negotiations this week, only to say that each of the players (all starters) was critical to the team's 2008 success.
''You'd love to have all of them back,'' Sparano said. ``But they have options, and we have options. That's where it is.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fo...ry/914311.html
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