Salguero: Why Do Dolphins Trust Agent Jimmy Sexton?
- Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald questions the Dolphins‘ willingness to continue to trust agent Jimmy Sexton, noting that the team has “been burned multiple times by Sexton doing what is best for his clients.” Sexton negotiated Ndamukong Suh‘s deal with the Dolphins last March, and also represents head coach Adam Gase and new draftee Laremy Tunsil, among others. So, as Salguero points out, the agent has been involved in plenty of franchise-altering decisions.
Dolphins Rumors: Jason Jones, Laremy Tunsil
As the Dolphins welcome their newest draft class this week, they are also saying goodbye to a recent third-round pick. Damontre Moore, who was taken with the No. 81 overall pick in 2013 by the Giants, was waived by Miami on Tuesday. While Moore has 45 NFL games to his credit, he’s perhaps best known by fans for his fight with former teammate Cullen Jenkins over a pair of free Beats by Dre headphones. That skirmish ultimately brought Moore to Miami where he racked up four tackles and one sack in three games.
- The Dolphins have kept in close contact with defensive end Jason Jones and a potential deal remains on the radar, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Jones met with Miami twice this offseason – once in early March and once in mid-April. The former second-rounder spent the past three seasons with Detroit, where he started each of his 34 games. In 2014 and 2015, Jones totaled 53 tackles, 9.5 sacks, four passes defended, and three forced fumbles through his two healthy seasons. In 2013, the soon-to-be 30-year-old was hampered with injuries.
- It was previously reported that Dolphins first-round pick Laremy Tunsil would avoid instant enrollment in the league’s substance abuse program, but nothing has been determined yet one way or another, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today writes. “Any incoming player with behavior or conduct involving a substance of abuse will be evaluated by the program’s advisors. Those clinical professionals – not the club, league or union – will determine whether based on that evaluation the player should be entered into the program. Neither the club nor the league has a role in that process, and are not notified of their decision,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in an email. Players in “Stage 1” of the program are subject to a treatment plan as well as drug tests which can vary in frequency depending on each case. Tunsil maintains that the infamous video of him from draft night was filmed more than two years ago. If that is proven to be true, then the offensive lineman will likely avoid increased monitoring for recreational drugs.
Latest On Laremy Tunsil
- Despite the gas-mask/bong video that surfaced on draft night, Dolphins first-round choice Laremy Tunsil will avoid entering Stage 1 of the NFL’s substance-abuse program, a source tells James Walker of ESPN.com.
- While many speculated that Tunsil’s stepfather was behind the shocking draft day leak, Tunsil’s attorney, Steve Farese, says that’s not the case. “Initially, that would be the low-hanging fruit,” Farese said on SiriusXM (audio link; transcription via PFT). “Now I’ve drifted away from those thoughts and don’t believe he had anything to do with it.” The Dolphins believe Tunsil’s former financial advisor was responsible for the leak, according to a source who spoke with Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter).
Dolphins Waive Damontre Moore
The Dolphins announced (via Twitter) that they have waived defensive end Damontre Moore, a former third-round pick. In related moves, the team has also bid farewell to running back Jahwan Edwards and wide receiver Christion Jones.
Moore, 24 in September, was taken with the No. 81 overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Giants. The Texas A&M product was unexpectedly waived by the G-Men in December of last year after getting into a skirmish with fellow defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins after failing to get free Beats by Dre headphones. That incident alone might have been met with a lesser punishment than an outright release, but it was not Moore’s only clash with team personnel. Moore was “fighting his [Giants] teammates since Day 1 of training camp,” and “yelled at” both head coach Tom Coughlin and GM Jerry Reese, according to one report.
Moore hooked on with Miami in December and appeared in three games for the Dolphins, racking up four tackles and one sack.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AFC Notes: Tunsil, Carroo, Ravens, Steelers
The Dolphins slotted Laremy Tunsil as their No. 2-rated player before the draft, with Jaguars defensive back Jalen Ramsey at No. 1, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. Had Tunsil not fallen to them at No. 13, the Dolphins would have been inclined to trade back and seek cornerback help, Salguero writes.
Among corners, the Dolphins had Eli Apple rated No. 2 behind Ramsey. Although Miami traded for Byron Maxwell, the team is now without all three of its primary starters from 2015 — Brent Grimes, Brice McCain and Jamar Taylor, the latter being traded to the Browns for a seventh-round pick Saturday.
Here’s more from the AFC as we transition into a post-draft world, beginning with more on the Dolphins’ board.
- Miami traded up in the third round to take Rutgers wideout Leonte Carroo, but it’s not where the ex-Scarlet Knights target came off the board that’s interesting; it’s where his new team rated him. “We thought he was the second-best receiver in the draft,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said, via Salguero. That assessment runs counter to just about every pre-draft analysis in a draft that saw four wideouts go in the first round and three come off the board in Round 2. Prior to Miami selecting Carroo at No. 86, the Texans took Braxton Miller at No. 85. The Dolphins surrendered a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft — which it traded to the Vikings to select another receiver, Jakeem Grant — as well as third- and fourth-round choices in 2017 to become the ninth team to select a receiver this year. Rutgers suspended Carroo twice in 2015, and he was arrested once on a domestic violence-related charge.
- Tunsil’s selection strikes Salguero as interesting considering as the No. 2 player on the Dolphins’ board, they couldn’t have done the exhaustive work on him as they did on someone like Apple or another player they thought would be in play at 13. He uses the Patriots, who did not pick until the 60s, not doing much work on Ramsey as an example.
- Although Ozzie Newsome denied the Ravens picked Ronnie Stanley over Tunsil because of the now-infamous bong video posted on the tackle’s Twitter account before the draft, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun reports that the social media posting was passed around the Ravens draft room prior to the team selecting Stanley. The Ray Rice moment still hangs over the franchise, Schmuck writes, inducing Baltimore to play it safe when it comes to questionable prospects.
- The past two years, the Steelers have chosen 11 defensive players compared to just four on offense, and Mike Tomlin told media (including Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) it’s realistic three could emerge as starters in Week 1. “I believe it’s realistic,” Tomlin said of the prospect of the team’s top three picks — cornerback Artie Burns, safety Sean Davis and nose tackle Javon Hargrave — starting against Washington in September. “That’s why we chose them where we chose them. But they have to earn it, and we’ll give them the opportunity to do that.” Following the departures of Steve McLendon and Brandon Boykin, the team has holes in its lineup at No. 2 corner and at defensive tackle.
Dolphins Trade Jamar Taylor To Browns
Entering his contract year, Jamar Taylor will have to attempt to book his second contract in another city. The Dolphins traded the fourth-year cornerback to the Browns for a seventh-round pick in this year’s waning draft, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (on Twitter).
The Browns also sent their seventh-rounder to the Dolphins in the deal. As a result of the exchange, the Fins move up 27 spots in the seventh round to No. 223, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. Miami still has pick No. 231 in the seventh.
Taylor did not enjoy a remarkable tenure in Miami, starting nine games in three seasons. His most extensive work came in 2015, when he started six games. Pro Football Focus did not view his work as particularly productive, assigning its fourth-worst grade among regular corners to the now-25-year-old Taylor.
A second-round pick out of Boise State, Taylor plummeted from No. 2 corner in Miami to start 2015 to being a healthy scratch in four of the Fins’ final five contests. The Fins have now moved on from each of their primary 2015 starters, with Brent Grimes signing with the Buccaneers and Brice McCain joining the Titans. Miami traded for embattled Eagles corner Byron Maxwell and traded Baylor’s Xavien Howard in the second round to help a rebuilding effort here.
Taylor will venture to Cleveland, where the cornerbacks haven’t drawn rave reviews much lately either — although that sentence can apply to most of the Browns’ position groups. With former No. 6 overall pick Justin Gilbert failing to see much time and Joe Haden regressing in 2015, the Browns also have Tramon Williams and Pierre Desir as auxiliary investments but could use some depth. Taylor made 48 tackles in his fourth season
Dolphins Reacquire No. 186 Pick From Vikings
The Dolphins’ infatuations with multiple receivers caused the No. 186 pick to be exchanged twice in two days.
Miami reacquired the sixth-round selection from Minnesota in order to take elusive Texas Tech slot receiver Jakeem Grant, doing so a day after sending it to the Vikings on Friday night in trading up to take Rutgers target Leonte Carroo at No. 86.
The Dolphins sent a seventh-round pick — No. 227 — to the Vikings in order to move up again to take a wideout, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Vikings then re-traded the Dolphins’ No. 196 choice with the Eagles to No. 188.
A 5-foot-7 target who led Division I-FBS in yards after catch in 2015, Grant broke out for a 1,268-yard, 10-touchdown season for the spread-reliant Red Raiders as a senior. At 168 pounds, Grant profiles as a player who can help the Dolphins out as a return man as well. He and Carroo add to a receiving corps that lost Rishard Matthews and, to a lesser extent, Greg Jennings, in the offseason but returns Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker and Kenny Stills.
Draft Updates: Cowboys, Tunsil, Pats, Jets, Saints
The Cowboys’ later-round selections have featured some interesting near-misses. Dallas has been linked to multiple players it did not end up selecting, including new Browns edge-rusher Emmanuel Ogbah, whom Cleveland chose in Round 2. The team also eyed Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd, Tony Pauline of WalterFootball.com reports.
Even its own pick brought uncertainty after a report surfaced Friday that the team nearly unloaded its second-round pick to the Bears before taking Notre Dame injured star Jaylon Smith. Perhaps these pass-rushers going off the board contributed to the urge to wanting to trade down.
We heard Friday night the Cowboys are not going to re-sign Greg Hardy. This, coupled with the looming suspensions of Demarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory have left the team thin at defensive end despite signing former Eagles edge presence Cedric Thornton in free agency. It took Dallas until the fourth round to address this spot, when it took Charles Tapper from Oklahoma.
Here’s the latest from the draft.
- The Saints traded up for the 120th pick, but according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter), they didn’t get their selection in on time. This allowed the Vikings to jump the Saints, with Minnesota selecting offensive lineman Willie Beavers. New Orleans presumably still got their target in defensive tackle David Onyemata.
- The Dolphins believe it was the former financial advisor of rookie Laremy Tunsil who released the incriminating gas mask video, tweets Andrew Abrasion of The Palm Beach Post. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the video caused Tunsil to drop from the sixth overall pick to No. 13.
- Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan told Dom Cosentino of NJ.com that the team isn’t working to acquire another quarterback, including Nick Foles (Twitter link).
- Pauline also notes the Patriots‘ collection of second- or third-round quarterback choices in the Tom Brady era could have included Wisconsin passer Joel Stave instead of the player they actually selected, Jacoby Brissett, in the third round. While neither was considered a top prospect, Brissett was mentioned as a mid- or late-round pick before the lesser-regarded Stave — a 6-foot-5 former Badger, who remains on the board. Stave threw for just 11 TDs last season for the run-oriented Badgers.
- The Steelers are considering a trade to get into the fifth round, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets.
Ben Levine contributed to this report
Patriots Acquire 147th Pick From Dolphins
A pair of division rivals are involved in today’s latest trade. According to the NFL Network (on Twitter), the Patriots have acquired the 147th pick from the Dolphins. In exchange, Miami will receive picks No. 196, 204, and 250.
Draft Notes: Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos
With the fourth round nearly halfway done, let’s check in on some draft whispers from around the league…
- The Cowboys‘ gameplan for the second round was to select Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and then move up and select Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). Ogbah was ultimately selected by the Browns with the first pick of the second round, and Dallas snagged Smith two picks later.
- NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says there was a general belief that the Cowboys would select quarterback Connor Cook with pick No. 101, leading to the Raiders‘ acquisition of the 100th pick. Meanwhile, Rapoport notes that Oakland is planning on keeping Matt McGloin and allowing the two quarterbacks to compete for the back-up job.
- According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter), the Dolphins slapped Leonte Carroo with a “second-round grade.” Miami ended up snagging the Rutgers wideout late in the third round.
- If Laremy Tunsil hadn’t been around at No. 13, the Dolphins would have selected UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Eli Apple, who was selected 10th overall, was also under consideration for the pick.
- Speaking of Tunsil, ESPN’s Adam Schefter determined how much money the offensive lineman actually lost on Thursday evening (via Twitter). The Ravens were prepared to select the embattled University of Mississippi product with the sixth-overall pick, but Tunsil ended up falling to No. 13. Schefter estimates that the rookie lost nearly $7MM after having fallen eight spots.
- The Broncos are fielding calls on several of their picks, reports Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (via Twitter). The team has a compensatory fourth-round pick (which can’t be traded), as well as two fifth-round selections.