Dolphins say Laurinaitis a possibility / In contract talks with Matthews | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Dolphins say Laurinaitis a possibility / In contract talks with Matthews

Daytona Fin

Daytona Fin

Queeks Draw
Club Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
42,328
Reaction score
44,963
Age
53
Location
Daytona Beach
As the Dolphins try to upgrade their subpar linebacking corps, an intriguing name has suddenly popped onto the scene as a possibility.

He’s not likely to come cheap.


Any team looking for linebacking help is likely to at least consider Laurinaitis, and the Dolphins are no different.

“It’s a possibility,” a source familiar with the Dolphins’ thinking said Friday night.

Laurinaitis, 6-feet-2 and 248 pounds out of Ohio State, had 109 total tackles last season, with 61 solo and 48 assists, plus one sack and a safety. The Rams saved $5.5 off the cap by waiving him.

It’s no secret the Dolphins need to upgrade their linebackers, who were a chief culprit in the team dropping to 28th in the league against the run last season.
Koa Misi, who had 78 tackles, would account for $4.9 million against the cap if he remains a Dolphin in 2016. Kelvin Sheppard, who had 105 tackles, is becoming an unrestricted free agent. Jelani Jenkins, who had 71 tackles, counts only $1.7 million against the cap.
Click to expand...
As the NFL gears up toward free agency, The Miami Herald reported that the Dolphins have opened talks with receiver Rishard Matthews in an attempt to bring him back after a breakout year with 662 yards.

That season was thought to have priced Matthews outside of what the Dolphins can afford under the cap. But if they are able to make the numbers work, it should give them the most potent triple threat at the position that they’ve had in years — four-way threat, if new coach Adam Gase also can get Kenny Stills more involved to join Matthews, Jarvis Landry and former first-round pick DeVante Parker.

Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins’ executive vice president of football operations, would not comment on the state of talks with Matthews specifically, but he left no doubt the high regard he has for Matthews, who will be entering his fifth season at age 26.

“Really proud of Rishard, what he’s done, not only on the field but off the field,” Tannenbaum said. “He’s a home-grown talent, has been developed by Miami Dolphin coaches. For me, that’s always extremely important. We want to keep as many of our players as we can. With that said, he’s earned the right to be a free agent, so we’ll see what happens in the marketplace. But Rishard is a good player, a good teammate. He’s tough. He goes over the middle.”
Click to expand...



http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachp...hop-for-lbs-james-laurinaitis-is-cut-by-rams/
 
Would be nice to hold onto matthews, Vernon, and Miller.

Its really the best draft class we've had in years.
 
So it sounds like there won't be a deal with Matthews before free agency period begins. Guess we shouldn't get our hopes up on his return.
 
Daytona Fin said:
So it sounds like there won't be a deal with Matthews before free agency period begins. Guess we shouldn't get our hopes up on his return.
Click to expand...

Will be shocked if he resigns, honestly my guess is we franchise Vernon and who knows what the numbers could look like next year if he has a good year, and he might be the only one returning from Miller, Matthews and Shelby. That's how I see it going into FA.
 
Daytona Fin said:
So it sounds like there won't be a deal with Matthews before free agency period begins. Guess we shouldn't get our hopes up on his return.
Click to expand...

I think everyone is expecting a market for him that probably isn't going to be there. The guy has had half a productive season. He probably needs Tannehill as much as Tannehill needs him. They've developed together.
 
Locke said:
I think everyone is expecting a market for him that probably isn't going to be there. The guy has had half a productive season. He probably needs Tannehill as much as Tannehill needs him. They've developed together.
Click to expand...

Really interested to see how some of these things turn out, there is just so much money out there to be spent though.
 
"I’m not done at all," Laurinaitis told ESPN. "I feel like I have a lot of good years left. I don’t know what to expect. This is my first time being a free agent. I’m going to look at what the interest is and let my agent go and talk to teams and see kind of who is out there. I obviously want to have a chance to get in the tournament and a chance to get the trophy. It will be fun to kind of have this process play out for the first time for me."

Laurinaitis was caught off guard when he was called into coach Jeff Fisher's office Friday. He was at the team facility working out at the time. He immediately knew something was up.

"Coach just thanked me for what I meant to the organization," Laurinaitis said. "He really thought that I was first class and the blueprint for what a pro should be and was just grateful for all I’d done. Basically, he wished me luck in the future and I was told they are going to go a different direction at the 'Mike' linebacker position."

"I’m more just, I was surprised by it, I was shocked at first," he said. "But I also know this is a business and when you start to move toward the front of the parking spaces and get a little older, all those people in front of you have left so you are not any different than anybody else who is getting up there. I’m going into Year 8 and I’m still 29 and I still feel like I’m playing at a productive level. I was a little shocked from that point of view but man, other than that, it’s a business.

"Once you get to Year 8, you really allow yourself to kind of sit back and be like, ‘You know what, I’m not going to be surprised by anything.’ I have seen a lot of things and seen a lot of people go. I have been grateful to have seven years with the same team. That’s rare in and of itself. I’m not bitter about that. Just a little surprised it happened this year but that’s football."

Laurinaitis has made plenty of money in his career, but he has never been on a team that finished .500, let alone with a winning record or in the playoffs. He's coming off a season in which he battled an elbow issue for most of the year but still played more defensive snaps than any player in the league. And he posted his seventh consecutive season of 100 or more tackles, on his way to becoming the franchise's all-time leader in that category.

"Goodness, for me, I want to get to 10 or 11 years," Laurinaitis said. "I think I’ve still got four years left in me, if not more. It all depends on the organization. I want to win, I want to compete, I want to get to the playoffs and experience that. I want to play in a good scheme, I loved playing for (defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams. Him and Blake (Williams) and that scheme is one of my favorites. I’m excited to see what other schemes are out there and what could be a good fit."

Though Laurinaitis didn't think he'd be looking for such a fit so soon, he even found a silver lining in the timing of it all, as the Rams have a voluntary players meeting set for early March in Los Angeles.

"I am happy about that," Laurinaitis said. "At least they told me so I don’t have to go out there with my wife and daughter and try to look at places and go through all that to be cut at a later date. I think it’s good now that teams are aware I’m a free agent and that I’ll be available. So the one thing I’m trying to look at as a positive is the timing."
Click to expand...
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ing-for-chance-to-get-the-trophy-in-next-stop
 
As much as I love Matthews, we have so many needs and WR might not be one of them. He makes the offense much more deadly, but I have already learned that defense wins championships. I have no faith in our offense scoring 28 ppg, so I really hope we put together a defense that holds the other team under 14, at any cost.

Also, the day will come when we need to pay Landry and Parker (I think hes going to be really good)...and it would pain me to see half our salary cap on contracts for WR's.
 
Phins1020 said:
As much as I love Matthews, we have so many needs and WR might not be one of them. He makes the offense much more deadly, but I have already learned that defense wins championships. I have no faith in our offense scoring 28 ppg, so I really hope we put together a defense that holds the other team under 14, at any cost.

Also, the day will come when we need to pay Landry and Parker (I think hes going to be really good)...and it would pain me to see half our salary cap on contracts for WR's.
Click to expand...

Excellent point.
 
LOL that Hal think Laurinaitis is going to get a lot of money on the open market.

---------- Post added at 07:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:58 AM ----------

I like the player, but I bewildered to why Habib thinks he will cost a lot.
 
Just let Matthews go...we have so many other needs. Even without Matthews WR is still a position of strength. Plus, what does re-signing Matthews say to Parker? Did he not show enough after Matthews went down? Have some faith in the rest of our WR core and move along. Vernon and Miller should be top priority, anyways.
 
miami234ever said:
Just let Matthews go...we have so many other needs. Even without Matthews WR is still a position of strength. Plus, what does re-signing Matthews say to Parker? Did he not show enough after Matthews went down? Have some faith in the rest of our WR core and move along. Vernon and Miller should be top priority, anyways.
Click to expand...

In today's NFL you need more than one outside threat. Matthews proved he can play at a high level. Parker, Landry and Matthews can all thrive on an offense. Enough balls to go around.
 
Phinatic8u said:
In today's NFL you need more than one outside threat. Matthews proved he can play at a high level. Parker, Landry and Matthews can all thrive on an offense. Enough balls to go around.
Click to expand...

Matthews played really well for us last year and I would love having him back. However, there is not enough money to go around. Parker and Landry are still on rookie contracts and will look to get paid. Plus, we have several other needs besides WR right now that it would be a luxury to bring him back. We spend money on Matthews it's bye-bye upgrading one other position of need unless we make a ton of additional cuts from our current roster.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom