Ginn signs, holdout avoided

The Dolphins were able to avoid a messy situation by getting Ted Ginn signed today before the team's first full-squad meeting. If he hadn't been signed in time, Ginn would have been considered a holdout, and owner Wayne Huizenga previously said that he would not tolerate any rookie holdouts this season. Fortunately, that whole controversy was avoided.

Ginn agreed to a five-year deal with approximately $13.5 million in guaranteed money. The team has now signed all 10 of its draft picks.

Ginn said that his sprained foot is fully healed and that he will be ready to participate at full speed when full-squad training camp sessions begin tomorrow morning.

Here is the training camp positional preview that I wrote for Ted Ginn:

Ted Ginn
To start off, I think a bit too much emphasis is being placed on Ginn's foot injury. By all accounts he will be ready to participate in training camp. If the injury is still lingering around into August then it may be cause for concern, but not now. As far as what he brings to the table as a player, I think that can be summed up in one word - electricity. If the Miami offense has needed an injection of anything lately, it's certainly been some electricity. On most days, Ginn will be far and away the fastest player on the field, which will demand a defense's attention. His strength is going to be stretching the field on vertical pass plays. As he adjusts to being an NFL receiver, Ginn will be able to contribute immediately as a premier return man. His blazing speed renders initial pursuit-angles futile. As far as his weaknesses, he is very hesitant to run crossing routes over the middle of the field, and he has struggled to beat strong press coverage on the line. Also, while he excels on deep vertical routes, he is going to need to improve the rest of his route-running. I'm not so much concerned with his inability to catch over the middle since other guys like Marty Booker and Derek Hagan are more suited to those routes anyway, but I am worried about his ability to break away from a cornerback jamming him on the line. If he can't get good separation at the beginning of his route, his speed will be effectively neutralized. I expect Ginn to immediately make the Dolphins return game a true weapon. As a receiver, he'll have his struggles like every rookie receiver does. I'm not projecting him to be a star right away, but his presence alone will help to open this offense up, freeing up guys like Chris Chambers and Marty Booker from constant double-teams. Given a couple years to refine his receiving skills, Ginn has the potential to be as big of a threat for the offense as he will be in the return-game.