JUPITER, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder expects to be on the free-agent market next week, based on his most recent conversations with general manager Jeff Ireland and vice president of football operations Bill Parcells.
"They said, 'Well, we want to see what your market value is, and see where it goes from there,"' Crowder said Friday night at a charity softball game involving NFL players. "So hopefully it does get real, real high and they have to match something high, but we'll see when free agency comes around."
NFL free agency begins Feb. 27. The Dolphins on Friday announced they re-signed right tackle Vernon Carey, leaving Crowder, safeties Yeremiah Bell and Renaldo Hill and cornerback Andre Goodman to become unrestricted free agents.
Crowder finished second on the team last season with a career-high 113 tackles. The former Florida Gators star has spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Dolphins.
"They did have the whole season to re-sign me, and they really didn't want to talk about anything, so maybe they didn't like me as a player or whatever it was," Crowder said. "If they want to get into a bidding battle with somebody, that means they really didn't want me anyway.
"I want to play football next year, and I'm confident I can play in the NFL, so I'll play football next year and hopefully it's with the Dolphins. But if it's with somebody else, I know I can play football. They had the first crack at it and they dropped the ball, so we'll see what other teams do. It's their loss."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
