The Dolphins’ addition of Stanford left tackle Jonathan Martin raised a few eyebrows in South Florida, because Martin very sparingly played on the right side in college. His arrival resulted in an item from Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel regarding the possibility that Martin will supplant Jake Long on the left side, especially since Long may not fit with the team’s new lighter/quicker approach to offensive linemen.
G.M. Jeff Ireland addressed the Sun-Sentinel report on Saturday night, during an end-of-draft press conference.
“I’d like to clear the air on an article,” Ireland said. “I don’t normally go overboard on media speculation. But [Friday night] I saw an article about Jake Long. I have plans to keep Jake Long here for a long time. So, let’s don’t get ahead of ourselves. . . . We drafted Jonathan Martin to be a tackle on this football team, a right tackle on this football team. Let’s don’t speculate any further than that.”
Long was the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, even if the signs hanging about the NFL’s merchandise shop near Times Square say otherwise.