NFL Combine arrives, let the illegal tampering begin

Tuesday, March 1st marks the opening of the National Football League’s Draft Combine. This year the combine invited 324 players to participate in the week-long event. The question though is how many will actually participate. There have been reports that several of the top prospects will not participate in various forms.

That’s not what interests me though. March 1st marks the official opening of the “unofficial” legal tampering period. The NFL combine is the first time and maybe the only time that all NFL front office decision makers as well as player representatives are in the same place. This is where and when many of the opening free agency deals get started.

This should be particularly interesting for Dolphins fans as Miami has over $80 million to potentially spend in the free agent market. It stands to reason that the Dolphins will be major players in free agency because with the money they have, they can be in on any conversation about any player they might want. I’m not saying they should be, but with that kind of money available, agents of the top free agents should be knocking on Miami’s door. This will give Chris Grier a seat at any table he wishes to sit.

I’m not going to make any predictions of where or who Miami will spend their money (please let it be offensive line) but today marks the opening round of what might be my second favorite part of the season.

If there was ever a time that I wanted to be a fly on a wall it would be this week. I would follow Chris Grier around to every restaurant and bar he walked into. This off season has the potential to be the watershed moment for this franchise. The Dolphins have done a decent job drafting over the past several years to give the team a very young and very good nucleus. It is my opinion that the defense is ready to be championship caliber, if it isn’t already. Some smart spending on the offensive side of the football could make this team a playoff contender.

This free agency period could be the one that puts Chris Grier either on the map or out the door and for him today is the day it starts. Let the “il”legal tampering begin!