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Draft King News
June 3, 2004
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
You want to know what the worst roster move of the 2004 NFL off-season was? Perhaps an argument could be made for the free agent pickup of DE Grant Winstrom, who the Seahawks overpaid to steal away from the Rams. But at least in Winstrom's case, Seattle landed a top-flight DE who will likely be a big producer for them this year. But I say the worst move was Miami trading a 2005 second round pick to Philadelphia for A.J. Feeley.
On the surface the trade made sense. Miami needed to do something to overcome its offensive struggles. Clearly the team had the pieces in place to win, with Ricky Williams at RB, Chris Chambers as an emerging superstar at WR, and the signing of talented but troubled WR David Boston to potentially create the most dangerous WR combo in the AFC East (if not the entire league). The Dolphins opted not to fire head coach Dave Wannstedt following the 2003 season, so the blame had to go somewhere. In this case, it went to QB Jay Fiedler.
But let's not forget that Miami tried this before, landing Brian Griese as a potentially strong feel-good story (after what his father did as QB of the Dolphins) following 2002. But that didn't pan out, Griese is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and this time Miami decided to cough up a 2005 second rounder to snag Feely from the Eagles.
Keep in mind that Feeley didn't play in a single game for the Eagles in 2003. Not one throw. And already, it's showing. In minicamp, word out of Miami is that Fiedler outplayed Feeley well enough to go into training camp with the edge on landing the starting job. And that's with management wanting Feeley to become the Dolphins starter. Ouch.
What's worse, though, is that the Dolphins could've exercised some patience and landed a more seasoned QB without having to part with a draft pick. Kerry Collins and Kurt Warner both were cut (by the Giants and Rams, respectively) and signed by new teams. Tim Couch is anxiously wanting to leave Cleveland to land a starting job elsewhere. Could you imagine Kurt Warner as QB for the Dolphins, throwing deep to Chambers and Boston, with Ricky Williams in the backfield as a power threat? Good grief.
Perhaps Feeley will pan out for the Dolphins. We shall see. But for what they gave up to get him, and for how early in the game the Dolphins made their move, the pressure is on for the team to get results from the QB position... one way or another.
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