the Miami Sports Dude

The Dolphins and Lions QB Joey Harrington have agreed, in principal, to a two year contract that will pay him $2 million each year. This will bring a young, talented – albeit somewhat troubled – QB to serve as backup to the still rehabbing Daunte Culpepper. But Harrington is not a free agent.

And this is where the trouble begins.

The Genius that is Matt Millen is asking for a 4th round draft pick from the Fins. This after Nick Saban talked Millen out of asking for a 3rd rounder. Talked out of … more like laughed at him and hung up the conference call.

There’s no way Saban parts with his 4th rounder. Not when there are so many needs to fill. Not for a backup quarterback. Not for Joey Harrington.

You can bet that the reason this deal has not yet happened is because the Genius Millen is holding out for a better offer. Unless a team hires Rick Spielman as their new GM in the next few weeks, or unless Millen finds his counterpart in another GM who thinks “out of the box and onto incoming traffic” like he does – no one is going to give up a 3rd or 4th rounder for Harrington.

A 4th rounder. This demand coming from a guy who is the front runner for the Isaiah Thomas Award in the NFL.

Saban’s options are a bit thin after Harrington. There’s the Rams’ Jamie Martin, who did a serviceable job for St. Louis last season when Marc Bulger went down. But it’s a big drop off from Harrington (if that’s possible). Then there’s Kerry Collins, who has hit the proverbial wall in his career and is currently holding out for a starting job somewhere. Still, he would be a decent fill-in for Culpepper.

Harrington brings a lot of baggage, to be sure. He is a first round bust. His hype never matched his talent and it never will. But it’s hard to imagine him not meeting with some moderate success as Culpepper’s backup down here. With the offensive coaching staff that the Fins have in place, as well as the system, and the protection of having a world-class runner in Ronnie Brown, a rising star in Chris Chambers, a solid possession receiver in Marty Booker and a great fail-safe TE in Randy McMichael, Harrington would have zero excuses. Plus, there’s the added bonus of the fact that he is no longer being asked to “save a franchise” as well as an opportunity to try and prove he’s worthy of starting elsewhere.

My guess is that this deal will get done sometime before Draft Day. Millen will have no choice but to accept Saban’s offer of a 5th or 6th round and no more. The Genius Millen has already dug himself into a hole by signing two quarterbacks in the off season. That’s right. Two. The man is a certifiable genius.

With Jon Kitna and Josh McCown on board, he has one too many quarterbacks on his roster and will be forced to deal away Harrington. Right now his best and only option are the Dolphins.

Your move, Genius.

Labels: Miami Dolphins