"Ronnie Brown's not stressing about his contract, and he advises Miami Dolphins fans not to read too much into the fact he hasn't signed the offer on the table, even though he reiterated he's in no hurry to sign it.
Brown wants a multiyear contract instead of the one-year tender for $3.97 million the Dolphins have extended. But the Dolphins haven't offered one, purposely putting Brown in a play-for-pay situation.
Brown's only leverage is his John Hancock, and it appears he's using it. But that doesn't mean this 2008 Pro Bowler plans to play hard ball with the front office, becoming a training camp holdout.
Tuesday, Brown said he'll be at training camp and will report on time.
"I got a lot of work to do, especially if we're going to go to the Super Bowl," Brown said, referring to owner Steve Ross' bold Super Bowl prediction, which coach Tony Sparano and his players have backed up.
"There's nothing dramatic. It's not like anyone's expecting me to hold out. It's a few knickknack things. There's language [issues]," said Brown, who along with Channing Crowder kicked off the team's Most Valuable Summer Reading Program at the Broward County Library. "I plan on signing it. It's not a big deal. We're just talking about some things. Obviously I'd like to get something [long term] done, but there's nothing dramatic."
By dramatic, Brown's referring to the NFL's June 15 deadline where restricted free agents, like himself, must have signed their tenure or faced a possible reduction in their offer. After that deadline teams can reduce their tenders to 110 percent of the player's 2009 salary."