Vernon Carey could lose his roster spot?

I had assumed that Carey would be safe as he enters his eighth NFL season, but then I heard backup Lydon Murtha say yesterday on Orlando Alzugaray’s show on 640-AM that he expects to compete for the starting right tackle job this year, and I don’t think that’s just player-speak. Carey will be 30 at the end of July, and while his production was still solid last year (ranked the 25th-best offensive tackle by Pro Football Focus), he’s coming off a knee injury that could slow him down, and his salary jumps from $950,000 to $4.15 million this year (he’s got about $20 million due over the next four years of his heavily back-weighted contract). If Murtha, a third-year player who started the final four games of 2010 and is due a much smaller salary next year, can prove to be just as effective as Carey during training camp, then don’t be surprised if the Dolphins part ways with their second-longest tenured player.

Click here to order Vernon Carey’s proCane Rookie Card.



(palmbeachpost.com)