Ireland defends Wilson, suggests he's staying

Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland just finished speaking with the media and the most interesting thing from the talk, in my opinion, was his whole-hearted defense of Gibril Wilson and suggestion the free safety will remain with the Dolphins in 2010.

Ireland was asked if Wilson took too much of the blame for the troubles of the defense in 2009.

"He's playing a position with two young corners," Ireland said. "A lot of things you would try to blame on him ... those weren't always his fault. We have our evaluation of Gibril Wilson. We know what kind of player he's capable of being. I think he's going to be a very good player for the future. He was disappointed in his play last year.He will tell you that. I think he can play better. We'll just have to see. I think he will."

In talking to several reporters who attended the presser, including The Herald's Jeff Darlington, the clear indication they got is that the Dolphins intend to keep Wilson.

That even as the NFL is headed toward an uncapped year and cutting Wilson after March 5 would not cause any salary cap issues. Wilson signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal in 2009 that included a $5 million signing bonus and a total of $8 million in guarantees. 

So what do you think?

By the way, the live blog of the NFL Combine continues in the comments section. See you there.