Early Friday the Dolphins, looking around the free agent market for a right tackle and finding very few left, tried again to get Zach Strief of the New Orleans Saints to visit.
He declined.
And the news was reported by The Herald's Barry Jackson thusly: Free agent right tackle Zach Strief declined an offer to visit the Dolphins. Indications are that he prefers to return to New Orleans.
And the nugget was picked up by ProFootballTalk.com.
And the Dolphins apparently freaked.
The team that has suffered its share of notable rejections -- Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Jeff Fisher, Nick Caserio, Ray Farmer, Tom Gamble, and Lake Dawson -- is sensitive to the idea that it is being rejected on any front by anybody.
And the club apparently felt there was a perception the Strief decision not to visit stirred the rejection pot again. This despite the fact neither report by The Herald nor PFT mentioned the words "rejection" or "spurned" or anything close to it.
The Dolphins complained to Strief's representation, anyway.
And so this morning agent Ralph Cindrich went on his twitter account to correct the record that, frankly, didn't need correcting because the facts were all there and the perception he was trying to correct wasn't shared by everyone, anyway.
So Cindrich tweeted:
"I was made aware from the Dolphins that there was an incorrect perception the Dolphins were spurned-not the case. Saints negot's heated up."
As I've been reporting on my twitter account, the Dolphins like Strief. He's actually the only proven right tackle left on the market. But he's 30, has roots in New Orleans, loves the team and wants to stay there. The Saints want to keep him but their salary cap situation is so problematic they're being forced to trade or cut good players.
So Cindrich, a longtime good agent, was hedging his bet by seeking other teams -- including the Dolphins. Cindrich has no issues with the Dolphins. Strief has no issues with the Dolphins. They don't talk on the phone and giggle like little girls about how ridiculous playing for the Dolphins would be.
It's just that Strief wants to go back to the Saints. It's business.
"Saints Mickey Loomis could not promise Strief home-cap rm," Cindrich tweeted. "Concerned, I sought teams, Dolphins fr start-every day. Great place for new start."
That does not mean, however, there will be a new start. It just means the Strief camp isn't mocking the Dolphins.
"Last tweet: Dolphins front office class people. Team took a hit when talks heated up with Saints. We never had a Miami visit set," Cindrinch added.
So where does this leave us?
Zach Strief, as of this writing, is not visiting the Dolphins. He has declined the invite. He's negotiating a return to the Saints. But his agent wants you to know that doesn't mean he's spurning the Dolphins.
More interestingly, the Dolphins want you to know they're not being spurned.
They're kinda sensitive that way.
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