The Miami Dolphins have officially signed their second player of this free agency period.  Wednesday night, Richard Marshall announced on twitter that he and the Dolphins had agreed to a 3 year contract.  Moments later, Adam Schefter confirmed the signing and said the deal is for 3 years and $16 mil with $6 mil guaranteed.  Marshall was drafted in 2006 by the Carolina Panthers in the 2nd round.  He moved to the Arizona Cardinals last year before becoming a free agent.

Marshall brings versatility to the Dolphins secondary.  He can play cornerback or free safety.  He could slide in as the Dolphins nickel cornerback, but that is unlikely.  You don’t usually pay a nickel cornerback over $5 mil per year.  So, I would guess that Marshall is either coming in to play free safety or starting cornerback.  My guess would be free safety.  However, there was a rumor going around today that the Dolphins are shopping Sean Smith.  Omar Kelly shot down the rumor, saying that Smith would remain in Miami for 2012.

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The Miami Dolphins waiting approximately 24 hours before signing their first free agent. Surprisingly, the first free agent the Dolphins sign, was one of their own.  On Wednesday, the Dolphins signed DT Paul Soliai to a 2 year contract worth $12 million with $6 million guaranteed.  The deal will cost the Dolphins roughly $4 million against the 2012 salary cap, reducing their cap space to just about $10.4 million.

While Soliai is not a free agent Dolphins fans anticipated, his value to run support in the Dolphins defense is important.  Soliai does not have huge stats, but he often occupies 2 blockers, allowing other Dolphins defenders to make plays.  It was believed that Soliai would get a much larger contract and that he would not be resigned by the Dolphins because of their reported switch to the 4-3 defense.  However, Soliai can play nose tackle in the 3-4 and is agile enough to play defensive tackle in the 4-3.  The fact that the Dolphins got Soliai at a good price is great news.  Now, the Dolphins can focus on filling other holes on their roster and potentially creating more cap space.  Among the candidates for restructuring their contracts are Jake Long, Karlos Dansby, and Yeramiah Bell.

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Not sure why news involving the Miami Dolphins always breaks late at night….but it happened again.  Late last night reports began to surface about Brandon Marshall and an alleged incident that involved Marshall punching a woman in the face.  Let me first say that in America, we are all innocent until proven guilty.  In Marshall’s case, given his history, his presumed innocence is shaky at best.  The alleged incident took place over the weekend and is most likely the reason that Marshall was finally traded away from the Miami Dolphins.

Innocent or not, the fact that Marshall’s name was going to be out in the news again for violence against a woman, was probably the last straw with the Dolphins.  Even though the Dolphins had been working on the trade with the Bears for a few weeks, this was probably the tipping point for the Dolphins front office.  In retrospect, the deal to get 2 third round picks doesn’t seem so bad after all, does it?  After all, if this story does turn out to be true, the NFL could take action against Marshall.  AND, if the NFL takes action, it will be the 3rd strike for Brandon and could lead to a 1 year suspension.  So getting 2 third round picks for a guy that could be suspended sounds like a pretty good deal.

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The Miami Dolphins clearly had a plan entering free agency.  It may not be the plan that Dolphins fans necessarily agree with, but it’s a plan and it’s the front office’s job to make the team better.  As of this second, the Dolphins have reached out to players they are interested in…..and traded away their best offensive player for 2 third round draft picks.  As much as I want to jump on Ireland for his inactivity today, I keep telling myself to be patient and to let the process play out.

The Dolphins have a meeting tomorrow with Eric Winston, possibly the best RT free agent available.  That’s good.  You know that’s good because he chose to come to Miami first, before visiting the other 9 teams that are interested in him.  The Dolphins are also meeting with CB/FS Richard Marshall, formally of the Panthers.  Marshall is not a household name, but people in the know say that he is a quality defensive back that could be used as a nickel corner or at free safety.

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Last night, news broke around 11pm that Peyton Manning had met with the Miami Dolphins in Indianapolis.  This morning, it seems that every reporter is downplaying the Dolphins meeting with Manning.  Adam Schefter of ESPN believes the Dolphins are ‘not a viable option’ at this point for Manning.  Schefter contends that the Broncos, Cardinals, and Titans have more to offer than the Dolphins.  Jeff Darlington of NFL Networks believes that the Dolphins visit with Manning was simply out of courtesy.  Meanwhile, Armando Salguero contends that the National Media is conducting an ‘assault on the Dolphins’.

Here’s the question though, why?  Are the Dolphins truly a long shot at this point?  If so, will they learn this quickly enough to still conduct business in free agency?  Or will they sit back and wait, believing they are truly in the Manning race?  After all, Matt Flynn and 600 other free agents become available at 4pm this afternoon.  John Clayton said this morning that he expects Peyton’s decision by tomorrow or Thursday.  The Dolphins would be wise to conduct business as usual while they wait for Manning’s decision.

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When we first heard that Peyton Manning would meet with Miami Dolphins coach, Joe Philbin, we thought it might be a bit of a facade….a pity meeting.  However, according to Armando Salguero, the Dolphins meeting with Manning seems to be legit and more formal than we originally thought.

What once sounded like a purely X’s and O’s discussion between Philbin and possibly Mike Sherman, now sounds like it will include Jeff Ireland and possibly Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross.   Mando says that the meeting will not take place in South Florida.  I find this a little odd since Manning is currently residing in South Florida.  However, we have no idea where the meeting is and neither does anyone else!

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