Welcome back... Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! Dolphins to sign Cris Carter Injury to Gadsden sends Miami looking for hands By Peter King, Sports Illustrated The retirement of star wide receiver Cris Carter appears to be over. Carter has agreed in principle with the Miami Dolphins, who are tied with San Diego for the best record in the AFC at 5-1 but face the prospect of losing Oronde Gadsden for the rest of the season. According a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Gadsden has decided to undergo season-ending surgery for a torn ligament in his left wrist after failing to agree on a contract extension. Carter will likely finalize the agreement on Monday and should be in uniform at Green Bay for the Monday night game on Nov. 4. The Dolphins have a bye this week. Carter could not be reached for comment Saturday, but NFL sources said the Dolphins have been looking for an available impact wide receiver should Gadsden opt to have his surgery. Carter, who lives in nearby Boca Raton, Fla., has been comfortable since retiring from the Vikings last winter, beginning his television career as a member of HBO's Inside the NFL studio crew. It is expected that Carter will take a leave of absence from the show and likely resume his duties there next fall. Gadsden is a fifth-year receiver who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2002 season. "We have no choice," Gadsden's agent Michael Todd told the newspaper. "We wanted to get an extension as injury protection, but they offered a contract that should have gone to the 51st player on the roster instead of Oronde." Gadsden, 31, suffered the injury during Miami's 24-22 win at Denver on Oct. 13. He could try to play with the injury and delay the surgery until after the season, but is concerned that may cause potential suitors to shy away from him at the start of the free-agent signing period. A contract extension from the Dolphins would have convinced Gadsden to try to play with the injury, but Todd was unhappy with Miami's offer. "Oronde really wants to go play, but he's mindful of the risk involved while doing so," Todd told the newspaper. "We're asking the Dolphins to share the risk, but they're not willing to do so." In the final year of a three-year, $4 million contract, Gadsden is seeking more than the five-year, $9 million deal that Miami gave to free-agent receiver James McKnight in 2001. Todd told the newspaper that the Dolphins offered Gadsden a shorter deal worth $1.1 million less annually than McKnight received. An asset to the passing game because of his long arms, the 6-foot-2 Gadsden has 16 catches for 228 yards this season, including a spectacular one-handed grab against the New York Jets. Signed by Miami as an unheralded free agent in 1998 after playing in the Arena League, Gadsden ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in catches (223), receiving yards (3,204) and touchdowns (22). The Dolphins (5-1) are tied with San Diego for the best record in the AFC, but will be without quarterback Jay Fiedler for at least the next month because of a broken thumb. after the St. Louis/Cleveland fiasco, was there any doubt this guy wanted back in the league for the right price?
