All Dolphins

Dolphins Notebook: Punter Now Official, Saying Goodbye, More

The Miami Dolphins made official the signing of punter Michael Palardy, but will have to wait until Wednesday to do the same for their trade with the Houston Texans

Alain Poupart

The Miami Dolphins made it official Monday that they had signed punter Michael Palardy, a few days after the news was reported.

Terms or length of the contract were not disclosed, though it originally was reported as a one-year deal.

The Dolphins did not have to wait until Wednesday and the start of the new league year to announce the Palardy signing because he was a "street" free agent after having been released by the Carolina Panthers in February.

That's a different situation than either of the two trades the Dolphins have consummated over the past week, the one that involved acquiring 2020 Tennessee Titans first-round pick Isaiah Wilson and the one that sent Shaq Lawson to Houston for linebacker Benardrick McKinney.

SAYING GOODBYE

While the trade isn't "official" yet, that didn't stop McKinney from taking to Twitter to say goodbye to the city of Houston.

Lawson, who was in Miami only one year after signing as an unrestricted free agent last offseason, hasn't yet posted that kind of goodbye to Miami.

He did, however, post a photo from his days at Clemson alongside Deshaun Watson, the current Houston Texans quarterback, but then deleted it not long after.

Watson, of course, has requested a trade from Houston this offseason and we can only guess what prompted Lawson to remove the photo.

IN MEMORIAM

The Dolphins organization announced Monday the passing of former cornerback Calvin Jackson.

Jackson, who entered the NFL in 1994 as a rookie free agent, spent all six of his NFL seasons with the Dolphins and started 57 of 75 games, including 56 of 64 from 1996-99. His best season came in 1996 when he finished with three interceptions, including a pick-six against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jackson, who was born in Miami but played collegiately at Auburn, was 48. He died of an undisclosed illness, according to the Palm Beach Post.

DRAFT NUGGET

Remember those cool shots of Dolphins head coach Brian Flores with his kids during the 2020 NFL draft?

Well, don't count on seeing those again this year after it was revealed last week when NFL team officials would be allowed to assemble at team headquarters — the war room — with proper precautions in place, of course.

The 2021 NFL draft is scheduled for April 29-May 1 in Cleveland.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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