Dolphins get Seau

[Guest Spaceman Spiff]

From ESPN.com

 

DAVIE, Fla. -- Junior Seau wanted to look sharp on his first day with the Miami Dolphins, wearing a blue pinstripe suit, a red tie and black size-15 sandals.

 

Sandals?

 

"These toes are so beat up,'' he said with a smile. "Maybe that's why they kicked me out of San Diego -- I never made the dress code.''

 

In truth, the Chargers parted with Seau because he's 34 and on the downside of a sparkling career. The Dolphins eagerly provided a new home, acquiring the 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker Wednesday in exchange for a late-round 2004 draft pick.

 

Seau's contract calls for a $1 million base salary this season and a $3 million signing bonus spread out over four years. Seau will earn about $6 million for 2003 in total compensation, between bonuses and base salary. The Chargers will pick up about $2 million of the $2.7 million roster bonus owed to Seau.

 

Seau's relationship with the Chargers soured after 13 seasons with his hometown team, and they gave him permission last month to seek a trade. Describing himself as fired, unemployed and humbled, he quickly settled on Miami as his first choice.

 

He likes the Dolphins because they play on grass in warm weather and have a talent-laden, albeit underachieving roster with championship potential.

 

"Junior Seau needed the Miami Dolphins more than the Miami Dolphins needed Junior Seau,'' he said, clutching a Miami jersey with his familiar No. 55.

 

Maybe so, but the Dolphins were delighted with the acquisition. Seau gives them eight returning Pro Bowl players, including seven on defense -- a staggering total for a team that missed the playoffs and hasn't been to the Super Bowl since 1984.

 

Coach Dave Wannstedt resisted the temptation to describe Seau as the player who can get Miami over the hump. But he lauded Seau's talent, passion and professionalism.

 

"Opportunity knocked,'' Wannstedt said. "It's a great day for the Dolphins.''

 

Middle linebacker Zach Thomas agreed.

 

"I never thought I would be playing side-by-side with a Hall of Famer,'' Thomas said. "It's like playing offense with Dan Marino.''

 

Joining a cast that includes Thomas, Jason Taylor and Sam Madison, Seau said he'll happily fill a complementary role rather than serve as the centerpiece.

 

"I look forward to working with these studs,'' he said. "I just have to come in and be the fluff. I'm the glitter. I'm the fanfare.''

 

The Chargers will receive a fifth- or sixth-round draft choice next year, depending on how much Seau plays this season.

 

Seau wants to complete his contract, which runs through 2005, but his productivity has dropped each of the past two seasons. He missed a career-high three games in 2002 because of an ankle injury that bothered him much of the year and required postseason surgery, and his 84 tackles were a career low.

 

But he passed a physical Wednesday, the final step to complete the trade. While Seau joked that it took two hours to X-ray his numerous old injuries, he said he expects to be healthier with the Dolphins than in 2002.

 

"I can't wait to go out there and test myself,'' he said. "The first quarter of the year was a great year. Soon after that it was a year where I had to bandage up and shoot up, and it wasn't pleasant.''

 

A fitness fanatic, Seau said he plans to participate in all of the Dolphins' offseason workouts. The first mini-camp begins May 2.

 

Seau is expected to replace Derrick Rodgers at outside linebacker. The Dolphins have had trade talks with the Green Bay Packers involving Rodgers, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli has confirmed. Rodgers has a $1.8 million salary-cap figure that makes him too expensive to keep as a backup.

 

Seau began his news conference by paying tribute to Chargers general manager John Butler, who died last week of lung cancer, and thanking the city of San Diego for its support. He'll return there to play against the Chargers on Oct. 27 -- his first Monday night game since 1996.

 

"If the Chargers are in our way of getting to the Super Bowl, we're ready for them,'' Seau said.

 

The trade is the first major deal for Miami since a dismal December collapse. Seau said that when the Dolphins routed San Diego 30-3 on Nov. 24, he thought they were Super Bowl-bound.

 

"They were that good,'' he said. "We really didn't have a chance. They ran on us, they passed on us, they played great defense. I got on the bus and said to a buddy, 'There shouldn't be an AFC team that beats the Miami Dolphins.'''

 

Instead, they lost three of the final five games to finish 9-7.

 

Seau's former team has an even less impressive late-season history. He won three playoff games with San Diego, and his most recent postseason appearance was in 1995, when the Chargers went to the Super Bowl.

 

By moving 2,200 miles, he figures he's closer to a Super Bowl ring.

 

"We have guys here who have a bitter taste about what happened last year,'' Seau said. "What better situation is it for a guy like myself -- a coconut with two ankles -- to come into Miami knowing this team is out for some kind of vengeance?''

 

Next up - Brian Griese to back up Fiedler?