As folks begin to arrive in Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine (Rosenthal already is there, looking for someone who’s old enough to buy him some malt duck), the rumors already are rumbling.
Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel offers up a juicy one. He says, via Twitter, that the word on the street is that the Dolphins “will pay” linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Coincidentally, the Dolphins were one of the teams listed by Dansby on a four-franchise wish list, before claiming that he has no wish list.
The Cardinals still have exclusive negotiating rights with Dansby until he hits the market at midnight on March 5, but the tampering begins to unfold with a vengeance during the NFL convention that unfolds in and around the Scouting Combine. It’s so rampant that the league has considered changing the rules to permit players to talk with suitors from the middle of February to the launch of free agency.
The Cardinals also could choose to use the franchise tag on Dansby for a third straight year. To do so, however, would require the Cardinals to offer Dansby a one-year contract worth $16.4 million -- the quarterback franchise number.