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The Miami Dolphins released this quick statement at 6:31 p.m. ET about the status of Joey Porter on their Web site:



“The release of Joey Porter was determined to be an invalid termination. Therefore at this time, Porter reverts back to the Miami Dolphins roster.”



Hours after the Dolphins announced his release, Porter returned to their roster in the first of many complex salary-cap rules that the league is expected to encounter this offseason.



Click here for more on this developing story.

NEW YORK (AP) -NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been given a new five-year contract as the league heads into a key period of labor negotiations that could lead to a work stoppage in 2011.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Colts president Bill Polian is wasting no time getting ready for the new season.

The Miami Dolphins have released disgruntled linebacker Joey Porter.

CINCINNATI (AP) -Troubled receiver Matt Jones agreed to a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday, said a source familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because no contract has been signed.

Joey Porter was successful in talking his way off the Miami Dolphins.



In a move that was inevitable after Porter lashed out several times in interviews last week, the Dolphins on Friday released the all-decade outside linebacker.



Porter can sign anywhere he chooses. That includes the Final Eight teams (the eight clubs that made the divisional playoffs this season), who are limited in signing unrestricted free agents because of the upcoming uncapped season. But those restrictions pertain only to players whose contracts have expired, not those who’ve been cut.



Porter had Dolphins management grumbling when he erupted on “Jim Rome is Burning,” with a lengthy segment on Miami radio station WQAM and finally during a Sunday morning appearance on the NFL Network in which he said he would never wear a Dolphins jersey again.



In the process, Porter took thinly veiled shots at outside linebacker Cameron Wake for not being worthy of the playing time he took away.



The railings caused legendary coach Don Shula to publicly rebuke Porter. In South Florida, that’s tantamount to a papal decree.



Porter led the AFC with 17.5 sacks two seasons ago, but his production dropped off because of a hamstring injury, and he fell out of favor with Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano.



Porter had nine sacks last season, but half of them came in two games. He battled a hamstring injury and was deactivated for a game because of a disagreement with Sparano. Porter contended he was punished for going out to dinner at a time when Sparano allowed him to take time off to nurse the hamstring injury. The Dolphins have refrained from commenting on their decision.



On WQAM last week, Porter told guest host — and former Dolphins teammate — Channing Crowder he would like to play in a 3-4 defense closer to his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif. Porter named the San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers.



But could he be tempted to stay in the AFC East, where all four teams play a 3-4 defense?



The Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and New York Jets all could use pass-rushing help. The Bills recently hired George Edwards as defensive coordinator. Edwards was Miami’s inside linebackers coach the past five seasons.

NEW YORK (AP) -NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been given a new five-year contract running until March 2015.

The Cincinnati Bengals will sign free agent receiver Matt Jones to a contract Friday in an attempt to improve their passing game, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.



Here are some initial thoughts on the signing:

• Monetarily this isn’t a big risk, but the Bengals would take a huge hit publicly if Jones’ previous problems are not behind him. It will be interesting to see where Jones is in his personal life. He had a solid season in 2008, yet no team wanted to touch him in 2009. That leads me to believe his personal issues were at “code red.” The Bengals are counting on things to be different for Jones in 2010.
• On the field, the biggest issue is rust. Missing a year in the NFL and coming back is not easy, especially at the receiver position where precision and timing are so important. The Bengals cannot afford to wait a year for Jones to get his legs back under him. Cincinnati needs immediate help at receiver next season if it wants to repeat as AFC North champs. Can Jones be the same player he was two years ago? Only time will tell. But a chance to get into the team’s offseason program early will help.
• This signing makes me question whether the Bengals have any serious interest in pending free agent receiver Terrell Owens. As evidenced by their reported flirtations with Matt Jones, Adam “Pacman” Jones and Donte’ Stallworth, Cincinnati is looking to go cheap. These are all bargain-basement reclamation projects who make me wonder if the Bengals will suddenly pour out multi-millions of dollars to land someone like Owens or another big-name receiver in free agency to help quarterback Carson Palmer.
• Finally, what does Jones’ signing mean for Laveranues Coles? He signed a $28 million contract last year and underperformed in 2009. Coles, 32, isn’t getting any younger. He’s clearly on the downside of his career but the Bengals still owe him a lot of money. Keep an eye on what the team decides to do, if anything, with this situation.

TAMPA, Fla. — Get out your crystal ball and try to picture what March 5 is going to look like.



Hint: Those snowstorms that have been hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast recently might have featured better visibility than the NFL’s upcoming free-agency period.



“It’s all pure speculation by everybody,’’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Dominik said Friday.



Welcome to a new era in the NFL in which there is no salary cap and the rules are unlike anything we’ve ever seen. That’s all because the NFL and the NFL Players Association have been unable to come to a new agreement on the collective bargaining agreement. Unless that happens — and the chances of that seem extremely slim — before March 5, we all could be looking at the land of confusion.



“There will be a dramatic difference,’’ Dominik said. “Over 200 players who ordinarily would be unrestricted free agents won’t be unrestricted free agents.’’



Actually, the number is 212. Players who, in the past, would have been unrestricted free agents after four years, can’t become unrestricted until their sixth season. Instead, they’ll be restricted free agents — and the rules on those guys are changing too. We’ll get to all that in a moment, but let’s take this thing from the top.



Dominik and the Bucs held an “informational’’ session with the Tampa Bay media Friday morning to discuss the upcoming free-agency period and the likely changes. Memo to the rest of the NFC South and probably the rest of the league: The Bucs may have been 3-13 on the field last season, but Dominik and the public relations department at least know how to make things clear for the media — and, by extension, their fans.



Dominik took the time to run through an overview of how free agency will work if no CBA agreement is reached before March 5. It’s complicated and far different from what we’ve been used to for the last couple of decades.



First, there is no salary cap. There also is no salary floor. Teams can spend as much or as little as they want. For those who like to say the Bucs are cheap, go ahead and start the bashing and say they won’t spend a dime in free agency.



You’ll be wrong. Dominik wasn’t going to unveil his team’s whole plan for free agency, but he did say the Bucs will consider free agents who they think might fit their plans and that ownership has placed no limits on what the front office can do.



But this column isn’t specifically about the Bucs. It’s more to look at the new rules of free agency and how they’ll impact the entire NFC South.

(Read full post)

My AFC West colleague, Bill Williamson, took a detailed look at the upcoming two-year anniversary of the Jared Allen trade, and I have a few Minnesota-centric thoughts to add.



First, let’s review the terms of the April 2008 deal. The Vikings got:

• Defensive end Jared Allen
• Kansas City’s sixth-round pick in the 2008 draft. (It became starting center John Sullivan.)

The Chiefs got:

• Minnesota’s No. 1 draft pick. (Tackle Branden Albert)
• Two third-round picks from Minnesota. (Running back Jamaal Charles and safety DaJuan Morgan)
• Minnesota’s sixth-round pick. (Receiver Kevin Robinson)

It would be tough to argue that Minnesota didn’t win this trade, and Bill never made that claim. He does point out that Allen wouldn’t be an ideal fit for the Chiefs’ new 3-4 scheme, and notes that Charles seems set to be their tailback of the near future.



But while the Chiefs did get good value, they traded away a then-26-year-old player who will go down as one of the best defensive players in his era. No NFL player has more than Allen’s 72 sacks over the past six years, the type of figure that voters will one day consider when measuring Allen’s candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.



After quarterbacks, outside pass-rushers are the second-most valuable commodity in the NFL. They can change a game in an instant, and there are only a handful who consistently can put up 10-sack seasons, let alone Allen’s production.



And it’s not as if Allen has dropped off since the trade. He has 29 sacks in his first 32 games with the Vikings. Only Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware (31) has more sacks over that span. Allen, in fact, is one of only two players in NFL history to have three consecutive seasons with more than 14 sacks. Reggie White was the other.



The Chiefs will be hard-pressed to match that value even with the bounty they extracted from the Vikings. I’m not even considering that Minnesota also got its starting center in the trade; the Vikings liked Sullivan entering the draft and probably would have drafted him without the trade.



We’re only two years in, but I don’t think Allen could have given the Vikings anything more than what they’ve gotten. They were seeking one of the rarest NFL commodities, regardless of cost, and that’s exactly what Allen has been.