Report: Dolphins pursing WR Manningham

The wide receiver situation right now is not good.

No offense to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline, Marlon Moore and Roberto Wallace, but looking at that core group makes me cringe.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported today that the Dolphins are in play for free agent wide receiver Mario Manningham, who is also said to be talking to the Bills and 49ers.  Manningham had a solid year last season with 39 catches, 523 yards, and 4 touchdowns, but he was the number three receiver on the Giants depth chart and has never been a number one target, at least not since his college days at Michigan.

However, with Vincent Jackson and Pierre Garcon already signed, and Laurent Robinson in serious discussions with Jacksonville, Manningham looks like Miami's best bet.

Stay tuned.

Miami Dolphins begin talks with Flynn as they await Manning Decision

The Dolphins reached out to Matt Flynn yesterday to begin serious discussions about acquiring the 26 year old free agent QB.  All this while the team continues to hold out hope that Peyton Manning will come to South Beach.

As I reported yesterday, the Dolphins MUST handle this current situation with care so nobody is offended during the process.  Flynn is in Seattle today, meeting with the Seahawks, but many speculate he will not make a decision until Manning does.

Speaking of Peyton Manning.  His whereabouts today?  Tennessee, meeting with the Titans and owner Bud Adams.  This will be Manning's final stop before making his decision.

Other Dolphins notes:

• Pro Bowl right guard Eric Winston, 28, will meet with the Dolphins today after being released by Houston on Monday.  If the Dolphins can ink Winston it would be a HUGE signing.

• The Dolphins have also expressed interest in former Cowboys WR Laurent Robinson who finished the season last year with 54 catches, 858 yards, and 11 TD's despite only starting four games.

• Oh yeah, one more thing.  Brandon Marshall?  That trade doesn't look so bad now as it came out this morning that Marshall is being questioned after allegedly punching a woman in a New York night club at 4 am, Monday morning.

Keep checking back as new reports are coming in fast and furious!

Something fishy going on in South Beach

Brandon Marshall is gone.

11 million dollars has been freed up in cap space.

A team source told the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero in response to the Marshall trade to "be patient, you'll see."

Free agency started 45 minutes ago.

Some of the speculation?

A) Peyton Manning has told Miami he doesn't like Brandon Marshall, so they traded him to please Manning.

B) Head Coach Joe Philbin doesn't want Matt Flynn to have to deal with a guy like Brandon Marshall.

C) The Dolphins just had enough with him.

I think regardless of the actual answer, it's a win-win-win for Miami.  Keep checking back hourly as stories continue to develop.

(UPDATE: The Marshall trade was independent of Manning chase, according to the Miami Herald.)

Miami Dolphins trade star receiver Brandon Marshall to the..

(UPDATE:  The trade is official, and done)

Chicago Bears.

According to FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer, the Miami Dolphins have indeed traded pro bowl wide receiver to the Chicago Bears for two third round picks.

Wow.

Again, this has JUST been reported, so nothing if official just yet, but as of right now Brandon Marshall is done in Miami and will team back up with QB Jay Cutler in Chicago.

Keep checking back as news continues to unfold.

Dolphins can't afford to remain in Manning holding pattern

Time is ticking.

Time is running out.

In less than four hours, the new league year will begin.  That means that at exactly 4:00 free agency will open up, and the mayhem that will follow will be like nothing we've ever seen before.

And this is gut wrenching for the Miami Dolphins.

Peyton Manning is their number one priority, right?

WRONG!

A quarterback is their number one priority people!  Yes, Manning is their top choice, but they don't have the luxury of waiting 3-4 days for an answer.  They can't sit at home and wait for a phone call from Manning's representatives telling them yay or nay.

Because in 3-4 days, heck, maybe in 3-4 hours, Matt Flynn will be scooped up by the likes of the Cleveland Browns or Seattle Seahawks.

And then what happens if Manning says no?

"Uh, excuse me, Matt Moore, we're sorry for publicly acknowledging that you're not good enough for us, but would you mind starting for us next season, even though you're clearly our last resort?"

Or how about this one:

"And with the eighth pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select QB Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M.."

Gulp.

Miami cannot afford to wait around for Peyton Manning, but they also don't want to insult the future hall-of-famer by jumping ship and going after Flynn while he's still deciding.

Oh, the irony.  Football is such a physical, hard hitting game on the field.

But off the field?

It's oh so delicate.

The Dolphins are in a holding pattern right now, waiting on Peyton Manning to give them a yes or no, a thumbs up or thumbs down.

But they're quickly running out of fuel.

Dolphins meet with Manning in Indy

Joe Philbin, along with GM Jeff Ireland and four other club officials reportedly met with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis for six hours tonight to discuss the intentions of the future hall of fame QB.

This is coming off the heels of a weekend in which Manning met with both the Cardinals and Broncos, who ESPN reported are the two frontrunners to land the coveted free agent.

Manning is meeting with the Titans sometime tomorrow, and bearing any last minute surprise teams that will conclude all the visits Manning will make.

Keep checking back as the ManningWatch continues to unfold.

Report: Manning, Colts set to part ways

ESPN's Chris Mortenson has learned that Peyton Manning will be released by the Indianapolis Colts sometime tomorrow, ending his 14 year stay in Indianapolis. 

Again, nothing is official yet, but if this proves to be true then one can only assume Dolphins' owner Stephen Ross will be on the phone first thing next week, when the free agency period begins, with Manning and company.

Keep checking back as the Peyton Manning to Miami train may have just taken off.