QB Josh McCown traded to Panthers

Although the Dolphins have spent recent weeks shopping second-year quarterback John Beck around the league, it was veteran Josh McCown who was given the first ticket out of town. A day before final cuts, the Dolphins traded McCown to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick in 2009.

Background

A third-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002 out of Sam Houston State, McCown played four seasons for the Cardinals through the 2005 season. He spent the 2006 season as a backup in Detroit before heading to Oakland in 2007. During the first six years of his career, he completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 6,582 yards and 35 touchdowns along with 40 interceptions.

An unrestricted free agent in 2008, McCown was signed by the Dolphins to a two-year, $6.25 million contract with $2.5 million guaranteed. He was expected to compete for the starting job with 2007 second-rounder John Beck, but the arrival of free agent Chad Pennington and emergence of rookie Chad Henne pushed McCown down the depth chart. He did not appear in the team's final three preseason games.

Analysis

McCown was brought in this offseason to provide a veteran presence on a team that had none at quarterback, but Chad Pennington was an upgrade in that department and therefore made McCown expendable. McCown would have been relegated to third string this season if he were to make the squad at all, so it is good the team was able to get something in return. The compensation is likely in the area of a conditional seventh-rounder, as is often the case with these types of deals. If McCown were to be cut by Carolina prior to the regular season, Miami would likely get nothing. (I do, however, expect McCown will earn a roster spot over Brett Basanez.)

Dolphins fans have to be happy with this move because the organization was able to get something in return for a player that could very well have been cut. While it is true the team did pay $2.5 million guaranteed to a player they kept exactly six months, the team has plenty of cap space and the money is really a non-issue.

The trade of McCown leaves the team with three quarterbacks: Chad Pennington, Chad Henne and John Beck. Pennington and Henne are entrenched in the top two spots on the depth chart. Meanwhile, Beck's status is not totally secure even with the departure of McCown. Beck will remain with the team beyond tomorrow's final cuts, but I expect the Dolphins will still try to deal Beck and pull the trigger if they get what they deem enough in return. It would not surprise me to see Beck moved sometime between now and the trade deadline (usually in mid-October), so that is something to keep an eye on.

Most Intriguing Training Camp Battles, No. 1: Starting QB

I'm not going to go through all the failures at quarterback the Dolphins have had since Dan Marino retired because, well, I have plans this weekend. I think we're all aware lack the of a franchise quarterback has been a burden on this team for nearly a decade now. The team hopes that franchise signal-caller is already on the team, but who will start in the immediate future?

Many Dolphins fans weren't too thrilled with the signing of Josh McCown, but I feel that's only because they didn't understand the reasoning behind it. McCown was not signed to be the future of the team, nor was he necessarily signed to even start at all. While I'm no McCown fan by any stretch, I realize the absolute necessity of having at least one quarterback on the team with legitimate NFL experience. Maybe he was the best out there, maybe he wasn't. I actually believe the latter. But quite frankly, it doesn't matter if he was the best or not because he's merely a placeholder for John Beck, Chad Henne or some yet-to-be-acquired quarterback prospect. Remember: there are no Peyton Mannings or Tom Bradys on the free agent market. It just doesn't happen.

As a quarterback, McCown can probably best be described as mediocre. His accuracy and decision-making are questionable at best, and during stints in Arizona, Detroit and Oakland he's pretty much proven he's not a legitimate starting quarterback. That being said, he's probably the best quarterback on the team right now and as the only veteran is the safe pick to start in 2008. He's also a serviceable sixth receiver, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.

While McCown is the safe pick and he definitely has a legitimate chance at starting, he is not the guy I hope starts. I do believe McCown would probably be the most productive in 2008 out of the players on the roster, if only because of Beck's and Henne's inexperience. However, I feel is simply little risk in starting 2007 second-rounder Beck.

Though Beck is holdover from the Cam Cameron era probably not the team's quarterback of the future (if only because he's not "Parcells' guy"), it seems to me that you should at least find out what you have in a guy that was one of the best quarterback prospects in the draft only a year ago. McCown won't light to world on fire and Miami is unlikely to be competitive this season anyway, so why not give Beck a year to show what he can do before Henne is ready to take the reins?

The way I see it, there's no risk. If Beck emerges as a productive NFL starter, then your quarterback search is over. Perhaps in such an event, Henne becomes your own version of the Falcons' Matt Schaub and you can get some value for him in trade a few years from now. If Beck shows some skills but Henne's still your guy, maybe it's Beck that you trade somewhere down the line. If Beck flat-out fails, you still have Henne waiting in the wings.

I won't complain if McCown starts because I understand the reasoning behind it. If you're trying to field the best possible team in 2008, then he's the right choice. But as someone that's not optimistic about the team's chances this season and who would like to see what we have in some of our prospects, I'm hoping that Beck is given a year under the new regime to prove his value.

The position(s): Starting quarterback

Number of spots: One

The contenders: Josh McCown, John Beck, Chad Henne

Predicted winner(s): Beck

Reason: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Beck gets his shot in 2008 while McCown fills the No. 2 spot in the event Beck struggles. I don't feel Henne is a legitimate contender at this point, as I think the team would rather sit him for a season before letting him for the gig in '09. That being said, we could see a glimpse of Henne late this year if the season is lost and Beck and McCown haven't produced.

Dolphins release Matt Baker, Steve Fifita, Derreck Robinson and Abraham Wright

One thing I failed to mention in any of my six videos from today was the release of four players by the Dolphins in recent weeks. The Dolphins parted ways with quarterback Matt Baker and nose tackle Steve Fifita on April 29, while defensive end Derreck Robinson and linebacker Abraham Wright were let go on May 5.

I'm not sure these transactions are really video-worthy (though that hasn't stopped me before!) so I'm just going to provide a little analysis on each one in good ol' text form. 56k users rejoice!

Matt Baker

Baker was the fourth and final quarterback on the roster after Casey Bramlet was let go and Chad Henne was picked up on Day 1 of the draft. Because the other three - Beck, McCown and Henne - are essentially all locks to make the team, there was really no point in keeping the guy around. On a side note, he was later picked up by the Buffalo Bills, where he'll compete for the No. 3 job with former Dolphin Gibran Hamdan and undrafted free agent Luke Drone.

Steve Fifita

Easily the most surprising of these four cuts, given our lack of depth at nose tackle and the fact that he out-played 2007 fourth-rounder Paul Soliai, who remains with the team, last season. Hopefully, this is a vote of confidence for Soliai and our undrafted rookies (Kory Robertson and Anthony Toribio). Fifita was later picked up by the Patriots (surprise, surprise) and he could have a shot at securing a backup nose tackle job behind Vince Wilfork.

Derreck Robinson

A prototypical 3-4 end, but one from the previous regime in a now very crowed position. After we took three defensive ends on the draft, there was simply no way Robinson was going to make the club even if he did fit the scheme. It wouldn't be surprising if he landed in Baltimore, another 3-4 team that also features Cam Cameron as it's offensive coordinator.

Abraham Wright

Wright is another guy that fit the scheme, but he too had quite a few guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Our seventh-round pick from 2007 was a prototypical 3-4 outside linebacker, but he struggled with injuries as a rookie and wasn't going to beat out the likes of Reggie Torbor, Junior Glymph and Quentin Moses.

2008 Draft Analysis: Part II

This is the second four videos covering the Dolphins' 2008 NFL Draft selections, with this one discussing the selections of Michigan quarterback Chad Henne and Hampton defensive end Kendall Langford. Be sure to check out the rest of the draft analysis videos as well as the rest of my videos from the day!

Miami's options at No. 1

I'll probably cover this with a video closer to the draft, but I've written an article for KFFL.com on the Dolphins' situation with the No. 1 overall pick, what options they'll explore and what they are likely to do. If you're interested, you can read the article here.

Phins Spotlight returns from spring break with a bang!

Sorry for the lack of content of late - I was on spring break and kind of busy with some stuff. When I last published, I was still lacking analysis on a handful of free agent signings from the Dolphins' early spending spree. But fear not my dear readers, because I've caught up and have four new analysis videos on all the players I hadn't done. So here there are, and enjoy!

Josh McCown


Boomer Grigsby


Randy Starks


Reggie Torbor

2008 Offseason Preview: Quarterbacks

Free agency is just around the corner (10 minutes and counting) and I'm getting my final offseason preview video out just in time. This video is on the ever-important quarterback situation. I'm sure there will be a lot to post about in the coming back, so keep checking back for up-to-date news and analysis. Enjoy!