Dolphins cut bad investment Grove, re-sign Procter

The Dolphins have terminated the contract of center Jake Grove. Yes, it was a financial decision based on the fact Grove is not exactly living up to his contract and more money was about to be poured into his bank account if the team didn't make this move.

Grove, 30, signed a $29.5 million contract as an unrestricted free agent last year. It was money not well spent as Grove was injured part of last season starting only 10 games because, as has been his history, he was injured part of the season.

Those 10 games will be the full extent of his contribution for the $14.5 million he got guaranteed.

This training camp and preseason, Grove didn't fare any better. He was nursing an injured shoulder for much of camp and he was unable to beat out Joe Berger for the starting job.

Adding to Grove's issues is the fact his contract called for him to receive a bonus once he played the season-opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins clearly had no desire to throw good money after bad.

The Dolphins filled their vacant roster spot by re-signing Cory Procter. Procter originally signed with Miami as an unrestricted free agent from Dallas on May 24 but was released Sept. 5.

Welcome back, Procter!

On the injury front, ILB Channing Crowder (groin) is apparently not practicing again today. He was not wearing pads and did not participate in individual drills. It's starting to look like Crowder won't be ready for Sunday's game. He hasn't practiced in three weeks. He doesn't look ready to practice today, much less play. Game's getting closer.

Jake Long (Knee) did practice for the second consecutive day.

Meanwhile, Dolphins consultant Bill Parcells was not present for practice for -- at minimum -- the first 45 minutes. Cannot say if he came late.

[Update: Parcells was seen warming up his golf game by swinging a golf club in front of the Dolphins facility while practice was going on out back. He left the facility while the team was practicing. You can do that as the consultant.]

Comments

[JaxDolphin]

We will probably end up signing another backup center and drop Geathers.

[Nathaniel Dodsworth]

Some observations:

1) (As Andy Cohen) I'm predicting a Dolphins victory over Buffalo, unless we lose the turnover battle, in which case it's anyone's game. I see some good things happening in this game between Henne and Marshall, but of course we do have to be patient. I expect the offensive line to open up holes for Brown and Williams, but let's remember that we're lacking depth on the line, so don't be surprised if a mediocre Bills defense stymies the running game.

Okay. I know it's not right to hate anyone, particularly a chap as inoffensive as Andy Cohen, but his deliberate ambiguity and ass-covering makes me so angry I'd like to just - just - just - hand him over to "Ol' Sparky" for a good old fashioned Florida electrocution ... of course Ol' Sparky might not be working that day ...

2) Did you know that the unemployment rate one year after the 1929 stock market crash was only 6.3%? That was before Hoover and then Roosevelt brought in their high tax, high tariff, high regulation, high government spending policies. Sometimes it's best just to leave things alone.

3) I sent two e-mails to my wife today from work. In both of them, I called her "Princess." I think I may be getting some this weekend (so long as it doesn't intefere with the Dolphins game).

4) I heard that Tom Brady was in a car accident today. I heard he came away with a Soiled Bottom. Is that true, Soiled?

[finfaned]

lol we are new york??? youll be the canadian bills before ya know it!!

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

Grove already had a reputation of being an "injury prone" type guy. This was BEFORE Miami gave him 30mil. Should of done their homework right. Same thing just happened with the Bengals and Bryant. To me, teams like The Ravens, the Steelers, Patriots, they don't do mistakes like that. That's the difference between teams that are a lock to make the playoffs almost every year and the ones that seem to have a hard time. Decisions, decisions...

[Buffalo Bill]

Your house is falling apart, Tuna gone,Jeff next,and last Tony back to Hartford. Mike Nolan's team next year?? Buffalo 37 Fagami 13.

[finfaned]

if you think other teams dont have the exact same problems then you are mistaken.

[Billy Buffalo]

Buffalo Bill is smoking some good stuff. HAHA!!!!

The Bills stink accept it and look forward to your team moving to Toronto. HAHA!!!!!!

[ALoco]

1-THIS IS A GOOD NEWS FOR R.BROWN NEXT YEAR CONTRACT .
2-CHAD.P WILL BE GONE BY END OF SEASON .
3-THE PAYROLL IS HEADING TO 100 MILLION FROM 132 MILLION .

[2 watt]

8-8 = players on south beach.

[Billy Buffalo]

Buffalo Bill is smoking some good stuff. HAHA!!!!

The Bills stink accept it and look forward to your team moving to Toronto. HAHA!!!!!!

[finfaned]

did not mean any offense to the canadians on here concerning the Bills coming up there sry!!

[2 watt]

aloco,there will be no football next year.

[greg z.]

glad we got mike nolan!!! hope he doesnt regret coming here;it will be his team next year! he can turn it around. tony can be the oline coach.

[buffalo bill from silence of the lambs]

good bye horses

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

Buffalo claims: "We are New York". Any word if the Yankees, the Mets, the Jets or the Giants are moving north of the border as well? Maybe the New York Yankees will become the Hamilton Yankees.

[2 watt]

as usual, all of the eyes will be on the heat..maybe you gals can tail gate at ross' new water park...lol

[buffalo bill from silence of the lambs]

pennington to take over game 3 or 4 after consecutive losses..

[2 watt]

I will be giving knob jobs at the new water park.

[buffalo bill from silence of the lambs]

^save me some.

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

greg z, why don't you like Sparano? He's the first real football coach we've had here since Don Shula. And besides, Nolan was a head coach and didn't do much. You really think the dolphins would do such a move?

[Buffalo Bill]

Your only shot is to start Penny and nickel and dime teams to death, #7 gets brain lock, our D-backs will eat him up. After we kick your butt the New Jersey Jets are next! Buffalo 37 Fagami 13. We are Toronto,oops I mean New York!

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: "Measure Parcells after 2010". What I've been saying here for the last month.

[ALoco]

I WONDER WHO'S GOING TO MENTOR BERGER ?
30 MILLION MENTOR .

DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS CRAP ?

[MojoMark]

I expected this, Grove was too old, made too much money and kept breaking down. Three strikes against him in the eyes of the trifecta. Crowder is next. There logic is cold but practical..."if you can't play we can't use you".

I'm not as happy with Procter returning, hadn't heard that he did anything special in camp or the pre-season. Would have brought back Thomas and hoped he learned his lesson.

[TNPhinFan]

Grove may come back after the 1st game. This cut seems more money related than anything. Grove could serve in a backup role at a cut price unless the current cba does not allow this type of activity.

[mrmikejohnson]

It looks like ponying up a few extra bucks to get the center Brown would have been a better move.

[scott alderson]

who cares if the billionaires lose out on some guaranteed money on some free agents. this is the game!

anybody remember pre trifecta??? we had like three players still on our team from the last 10 draft years! this team was decimated and depleted and devoid of any talent.

the entire roster has turned over completely minus ricky, channing, vernon and yeremiah.

we really did have to start over at zero like an expansion team so relax fools.

[Buffalo Bill]

Billy Buffalo, your pizzing me off,talking smack about the Bills!

[TEST]

WILFORD BUST
GROVE BUST
ERIC GREEN
GIBRIL WILSON

TUNA FAILURES

BUT FAKE MEDIA AND HOMER FANS SAY TUNA IS ALWAYS RIGHT

[Yann]

Ireland and Sparano haven't accomplished anything significant in their careers. They were not picked by Ross.

Ross wants to win a SB. Do you really see us winning a SB with Sparano as head coach?

Next year he gives the key to the house to a proven winner (Gruden or Cowher).

[TEST]

this season is going to be a disaster

[TEST]

all the homers say that the trifecta knows best:

1. wilford
2. green
3. wilson
4. grove
5. white
6. turner

hahahahahahahahahahahah

[ALoco]

COWHER SHOULD HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY ON HIS JAW BEFORE HE LANDS IN MIAMI .

[Buffalo Bill]

To all you die hard Miami fans,please kick Ohio States Arse. Got a dime on them +9 and don't have it to pay the man if lose. GET EM U.

[originaldolfan83]

Hey Test-icle:
1. Long
2. V. Davis
3. Bess
4. Marshall
5. Langford
6. Starks

hahahahahahahahaha

[ALoco]

TAylor swift tonight in new orleans .

saints..........132
vikings....... 6

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

How many Super Bowls had Sean Payton won prior to last year? Or Mike Tomlin? Or Tom Coughlin? That doesn't mean anything. Besides, Cowher has made it clear he likes what he's doing now. Gruden might coach again, but not Cowher. And would Gruden really be an upgrade over Sparano? Not sure about that one.

[Ace from Texas]

You mean to tell me that Berger barely beat out an injured Grove. So basically, the message that is being sent here is that the Fins do not have a very good center, if our starting center is the same level as an injured one. Just doesn't sound very promising.

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

Ace from Texas, that's a good point. Scary point. I just hope we don't start living the Seth McKenney years again.

[Buffalo Bill]

The well spoken Mike Irvin will be the next fins coach!

[John Raleigh]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Grove, Charles Grant, and Marques Douglas signed next week when their contracts will no longer be guaranteed.

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

I think the key to the Dolphins'defense is the way our OLB's and our secondary plays. I think our d-line can go up against anyone, Langford is a rising stud at the LDE position, Starks is a beast in the middle and Odrick is getting better everyday according to Nolan. We're also set in the middle with Dansby and Crowder, but Misi is a bit raw, Alama-Francis is a former DE, and Wake is more of a pass rusher than anything else. Those guys will play a big role on this defense. In the secondary, all the pressure is on Chris Clemons. Can't give up those big passing plays like we did last year. Gibril is now gone, so we can't blame it on him anymore. Clemons has to step in and play center field. Hasn't shown much thus far, but preseason is often misleading. We'll see. Don't be surprised if teams throw deep right off the bat.

[Dolfan1]

Any of you people who don't think this team is better then when the trifecta took over are either,

1. Not a real Dolfan
or
2. Someone who needs to put the crack pipe down

[Waterboy]

I predicted this move about 2 weeks ago, when Sparano was quoted in the Fins Mag to say that "Procter can play center in this league"

This is a salary dump. At least they own up to their fiasco Free Agent signings.

Procter is the backup center and Berger is a backup Guard is someone guys down. The problem is their is 0 depth at tackle on each side.

Garner injury was the worst.

[phinsman]

this is bull$hit!
i am a huge die hard fins fan, i had no problem defending them when they were 1-15 but, all this crap is starting to stink up the place!!
just trade for the rest of thw cowboys team an get it over with!
FYI. Crowder is next!!!

[D]

Everyone keeps taking shots at Sparano and the O-Line, that they are terrible and have no clue what is going.

Yet....Miami is known to have one of the better o-lines in the league.

Just saying...

[Joe Schmo]

The 3 stooges have done more BAD than good. Parcells' time is over, his model doesn't win anymore. They've set us back 1-2 more years with all the misses. Thats why they double up positions in the draft. Wilford = Hartline/Turner. Letting Goodman go = Smith/Davis. ETC...

Sad to say but we went 11-5 with alot of Saban & Wanny's players leading the way. Bell, Hill, Goodman, Roth, Crowder, Carey, Ricky, Holliday, Ronnie...Penny & Long were the only real things they contributed.

I won't be picky about later picks but it's pathetic at the Trifecta's track record at the top of the draft. In the 1st 3 rounds, where MOST teams hit more often than not, we have failed miserably. Henne is unknown, Merling is a bust. Langford, aside from all the potential talk is average. Who else is there? Last years 2 & 3 are gone, except for Sean Smith who is 1 of the most overrated players around.

Drafting White, who was a luxury pick, is a mistake that will take awhile to overcome. You can't draft luxury that early unless your team is stacked with talent. This was a team 1 season removed from 1-15.

Not to mention Turner, who never got a real chance. Instead of having that fool White active, we could have used that to activate Turner to see what he could do. The free agent misses are astounding!

Lets face it, in 3 offseasons, this group has brought in Long, Dansby, Henne, Marshall, Penny & Starks. 6 players in 3 years? 3 of which were not even drafted by Miami? Atrocious!

Henne is still an unknown and Penny is not even a starter anymore. Everyone else on the roster is replacable. Yes, there are dozens of Hartline's, Bess type players around.

They've done NOTHING except leave us with holes due to their bad drafting/signings. Remember Wilford? Crocker? Anderson? Green? Grove? How many draft picks have we wasted trying to replace these bad moves? Next year, look at the holes: TE, RB, OL, CB. Didn't we address CB last year? Haven't we addressed OL EVERY year? Having 2 UFA's stud RB's the same year when you're a running team? How do you let that happen?

It's not gonna get better than 500% for AWHILE!

[D]

"Dolfans" (and I use that term loosely) are always looking for something to complain about. Get over it. The season hasn't even started and you're calling for Sporano's head on a silver platter. When they got a hold of this organization it was a dung pile. Yeah, they've missed on some FA acquisitions but they've also brought you a franchise LT when they could have easily taken Chris Long instead of Jake. In that same draft we got Henne, Langford, and Hilliard who, although he isn't a stud, he is a solid contributor. They brought you the big name wide receiver that everyone had been crying for. Yeah, they've made their mistakes but are also quick to correct them ala Grove. Sometimes you take chances on guys in order to get to the next level, doesn't always mean it will pan out. Get some perspective people.

Posted by: originaldolfan83 | September 09, 2010 at 12:43 PM "

Couldn't agree more. You clowns are starting to sound like jest fans.

[bootang25]

Awesome to see that it was Bill Parcells who planted the seed that was ultimately the onside kick the Saints did to start the second half of the Super Bowl. Funny that comes out as many want to bash him for being too old school, and praise guys like Sean Payton for being innovative. What a farce.

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

The difference is some of the fans are not satisfied with 7-9 and some are. I guess that's what 1-15 does.

[kris]

Yann...what Will Your Name Be When We Make The Playoffs This Year? What Will You Call Yourself Then?

WHY NOT US!!!!!!

[kris]

Bootang...these Idiots Are Just Band Wagon, Media Sucking, Idiots Who Only Think What The Media Tells Them. F Them

WHY NOT US!!!!!!!

[TNPhinFan]

Feed the Wolfe .... Feed the Dolphin

Buffalo the Bills...

Just win Baby!!!!

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

I don't care if your name is Parcells,Lombardi, Saban, Belicheik, whoever... Your still accountable for signing all these stiffs (Wilford,Green,Anderson,Smiley,Grove,Wilson).That's reality folks. And you're also accountable for drafting Pat White, Patrick Turner, Sean Smith, Shawn Murphy, Donald Thomas, and a list of others who the jury is still out, a list that includes Chris Clemons, Chad Henne, Phillip Merling, etc... So a lot of questionable calls, but also a lot of good ones, like Brian Hartline, Devone Bess, Kendall Langford, Vontae Davis, Jake Long, even Lex Hiliard. Like I've been saying, 2010 will tell us how good we really are. No more excuses.

[DCFins]

Two words: Justin Hartwig.

[DC Dolfan]

Scary, Joe Berger is our only center right now. Anyone know if Parnell, Proctor, McQuistan know how to play center? We need a backup just in case. Berger's been banged up too. If we gotta throw someone in there who's not familiar with the position, that'll be scary. I like Berger, don't get me wrong, I'm just sayin' if he gets hurt. Leads me to believe SOMEONE will be signed at least by next week. Oh, can Murtha play center? Samson Satele lookin' pretty good right now,isn't he?

[#1 Dolphin Fan in Montreal]

I don't know if it's just me, but I get the feeling Sean Smith is a bit immature. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a coach and won't pretend to be one either, but maybe Smith should tweet a bit less and spend more time working on his craft.

[Dfins006]

Do you see us resigning Grove after the Bills game?

[Ace from Texas]

This is just another clear and present example of this staff not knowing waht the ???? they are doing.

[TNPhinFan]

DC.. Interesting thought on Hartwig. Is he still available? and what was the reason he was released?