"Two key cogs for the Miami Dolphins still want Joey Porter to return in 2010, even after he blasted the coaching staff and his fellow outside linebackers in public comments this week.

"Definitely I'd like to have a guy like that back," Lousaka Polite, the Dolphins' fullback, said during a Thursday appearance at an NFL Play 60 event at Sun Life Stadium. "He's the heartbeat of the defense, a leader. He's a great player. He's been around this league. He knows what it takes. So who wouldn't want a Joey Porter on the team?"

Cornerback Nate Jones also expressed support for Porter, who all but dared the Dolphins to release him during a two-day media tour early this week.

"I love Joey," said Jones, a free agent. "I love the energy he brings, love the player he is. I'm his [locker] neighbor, you know what I mean? Love Joey. Love Joey. Leader. But this is a business, and things are going to happen."

While the Dolphins' power structure has remained silent in the wake of Porter's broadsides, Hall of Fame coach Don Shula didn't hold his tongue after being honored Wednesday night.

"The Joey Porter thing, I think that's just outrageous with him coming out like that," Shula told the Palm Beach Post. "He obviously wants out. I'm sure he'll be accommodated."

Going public was Porter's biggest mistake, Shula said.

"That could have been done with him going in and visiting the Dolphin decision-making people and doing it quietly," Shula said."