Bittersweet Sendoff: Mare to Saints

K Olindo Mare has been traded to the New Orleans Saints for their sixth-round (199th overall) pick in the 2007 draft. While a sixth-round pick may seem insignificant, the front office did an amazing job of getting any value at all, let alone something more than a 7th-round pick, for a player that was sure to be cut before the season began. The Saints must believe that other teams would get in on the bidding action if Mare were to be released outright.

Mare has always been one of my favorite Dolphins, partly for his strong decade of service to the same team and partly for his booming leg. One Dolphins moment that I will never forget was Mare's last-second game-winning field goal in snowy Denver to bring Miami's record to 5-1. A more recent memory was in 2005 when Mare was racing down the field (and as an aside, Olindo always seemed to have exceptional speed for a place-kicker) on a kickoff and managed to recover a fumble in the middle of a pile of bodies. His effort for this team can never be questioned. I'll miss you, Olindo. Good luck in the future.

Check out this article for a little more Olindo reminiscing.

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With the addition of the Saints' pick, the Dolphins draft pick pool now looks as such:

DAY ONE
Round 1 (9 overall)
Round 2 (40)
Round 2 (60, from New England)
Round 3 (71)

DAY TWO
Round 4 (108)
Round 6 (181)
Round 6 (199, from New Orleans)
Round 7 (219)
Round 7 (238, from New England)