The Question of Ronnie Brown

This is going to be debated for the next few months so I figured I may as well kick off the discussion right here and now while we have a full ten days to kick it around… What are the Miami Dolphins going to do about Ronnie Brown?

Ronnie Brown has played his last snap for the Dolphins under his current contract now that he has been placed on IR and his season is over. Today Brown underwent surgery on his foot in Charlotte. Over the course of his career Ronnie has played five seasons (that actually surprised me, I could’ve sworn it was four) but has played in every game just once, last season. Two years ago Brown suffered a major knee injury which he really only seemed to return from fully about midway through last season. In his career he has broken 1000 yards only one time when he went for 1,008 yards in 2006. Now he will again be coming off a season-ending injury and one to his foot which can be especially tricky.

Those are the criticisms, that’s the abridged version of why Miami might want to think twice about extending Brown. That’s difficult to even write though. Ronnie Brown is a fan favorite and, when he’s healthy, one of the most explosive backs in the game. Despite playing behind some pretty patchy offensive lines he has managed to be productive, often at great risk to himself. Remember he tore his ACL making a tackle after a Cleo Lemon interception. Last year behind a solid line, even despite splitting carries, Brown made his first pro bowl.

Brown is a violent runner with impressive vision and a solid burst. Even despite his ACL injury he makes very good cuts and is patient behind his blockers. In short, Ronnie is a rare combination of ability and intelligence. There is no formation where Brown’s intelligence is more evident than the Wildcat. Brown is capable of reading defenses and making the right call on the play which makes the entire formation incredibly productive. Even when he keeps it, his vision and ability to let a play develop and choose the right gap is always impressive. There’s a number of reasons the proliferation of the wildcat hasn’t continued, but one of the biggest is that so few of the backs taking the snap have Brown’s intelligence and vision. Even Michael Vick, a quarterback, doesn’t run the package with near the proficiency that Brown does.

Sadly the NFL doesn’t afford anyone the luxury of sentimentality though. Despite the fact Ronnie is a favorite in Miami, chances are he will command a reasonable price and he bears the unfortunate stigma of being injury prone. Not to mention Bill Parcells has never made a secret of the fact he thinks tailbacks are highly replaceable. Last night Lex Hilliard and Ricky Williams both ran well behind what is now a solid offensive line. What would change Parcells logic about tailbacks when he watches his team travel on short rest to Charlotte and grab a win on the legs of a 32 year-old back and a 4th stringer?

But still other factors complicate the situation. Under the current rules if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement cannot be reached in time any player with less than six years of experience would be a restricted free agent. In that scenario Ronnie Brown would undoubtedly be tendered at the highest level and would require top compensation to sign. In all likelihood, having ended the season on IR and coming at the cost of first round picks, Brown would be too big a gamble for most teams and would return to Miami for at least another season and potentially become a free agent after the 2010-11 season.

Right now there’s a lot of different opinions and theories on what will happen with the CBA, a lot of people don’t think it will get done and that things could go even further south from there. I disagree, I don’t think either side wants to see it go as far as a lockout or anything drastic, and even if they do that talk is all too premature. As for whether it will get done on time, I believe it will. DeMaurice Smith, the new head of the NFLPA is a very intelligent man and was definitely hired with this negotiation in mind. If the deal doesn’t get done in time and there is an uncapped year the players will lose a great degree of leverage. Under the rules in place for an uncapped year free agent movement would be extremely restricted for the afforementioned reason as well as because top teams would be restricted in the number of players they could sign in free agency, each team would have two franchise tags and while there would be no ceiling there would also be no floor.

What that means is that while some teams will give big paydays to players, the free agent pool will be slim pickings and some owners are more bottom-line oriented and would undoubtedly begin to spend less meaning that a lot of players that don’t grade out in the top of the free agent class will not get the types of deals they’re looking for. It’s a lot harder to put the worms back in the can once they’re out. The players enjoy a pretty nice piece of the NFL revenue pie as it is. As the deadline approaches and common sense prevails the majority of players are going to realize that it’s in everyone’s best interest to get something done.

There’s a lot of other factors that will go into the CBA, revenue sharing, ownership issues all kind of junk that Jerry Jones will be hollering about. But ultimately I think the majority of the people in the league should come to their senses near the deadline and realize it’s in the best interest of the NFL to get a deal done on time. These kind of issues have done huge damage to baseball and hockey recently, the NFL is perched atop the hierarchy of professional sports in this country and ultimately I think preserving that will be the idea that prevails in the final hours. I won’t even attempt to speculate as to what the terms will be, whether there will be a rookie cap and the other specifics. I just think it will get done.

Back to Ronnie Brown though, if there is a CBA in place and business proceeds as usual in the NFL, should Miami keep Ronnie Brown? Obviously there will be two schools of thought, I think Miami needs to though. Now, I admit on many things I am a homer. I was born in Atlanta (and became a Dolphins fan through my Miami-raised father whom I curse for it every day… kidding) and will probably go to my grave angry at John Smoltz. I think what Brett Favre did was high treason. Last year watching Miami without Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas was painful. I think one of Dan Marino’s greatest, most understated feats was turning down the temptation to sling passes to Randy Moss and Cris Carter in Minneapolis and take one last shot at a Superbowl as he was pondering retirement. When a player wins me over, I admit I struggle to let go.

And it isn’t necessarily the most by-the-book move, it may not be what Parcells typically does. But even Bill Parcells has had players that he realized were bigger than just the position they occupied on his roster. Ronnie Brown does a lot more for the Dolphins than just run the football, literally and figuratively. When he’s healthy he is elite, you have to plan around him and he makes the other backs on the field better because of the respect he commands.

Obviously he needs to have a clean bill of health, but assuming he does, the injury-prone label could work to Miami’s advantage as it could drive the price down. He may be more willing to take a safe deal with the Dolphins rather than test what could be a less-interested free agent market. It’s hard to imagine a team not being interested in Brown, but as a back who has already had two season ending injuries in the last three years, a lot of teams might prefer to just steer clear or pay less. Alternatively, if there is going to be considerable interest Miami could use the franchise tag so that any team that tried to sign him would have to give up first and third round compensation.

Regardless, if Brown can come back at full strength, I think it’s imperative Miami resign him. Brown is a huge part of the offensive identity of this football team. Not to mention, it’s possible to find another solid back, but to find one the caliber of Ronnie Brown is truly rare. I’m sure we’ll touch on this topic again and again as the season progresses and especially once the off-season comes… but in the meantime let’s kick this around.