Miami Dolphins: Signing Accountant to Play TE Is Brilliant Move

An NFL team (the Miami Dolphins) that can't seem to lure high-profile free agents, and as such, needs to take risks on lesser-known commodities to succeed. A former basketball player-turned-accountant (Les Brown) looking for one last chance to play professional sports.

A match made in heaven? Maybe not, but certainly one fit for the gridiron.

According to Ben Volin of The Palm Beach Post, the Dolphins decided to take a flier on Brown—a 6'4", 238-pound tight-end-to-be—with a three-year contract that guarantees him nothing more than the opportunity to compete for a spot on the team's 53-man roster in training camp.

There's a more-than-significant chance that Brown won't break camp with the 'Fins. The Westminster College (NAIA) alum will be one of at least five tight ends hoping to play in Miami this season, alongside the likes of Anthony Fasano, Charles Clay, Will Yeatman and Jeron Mastrud.

And that's assuming GM Jeff Ireland doesn't bring in any more through the draft or free agency.

From the Dolphins' side, then, signing Brown was a no-risk, high-reward move. If it works out, first-year head coach Joe Philbin and his staff will have, on their hands, a mature, 24-year-old kid who ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 39-inch vertical leap at BYU's Pro Day. Brown has all the tools (and the basketball background) to be the next Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates or Jimmy Graham.

All three of whom, by the way, played in the 2012 Pro Bowl.

Should Brown prove capable of running crisp routes, blocking at the line, battling defensive backs and pulling down balls with his hands, he could be a fantastic target for whomever ends up under center on South Beach for the foreseeable future. 

What's more, Miami might be better equipped to accommodate and capitalize on a player in Brown's situation that just about any other team in the league. After all, it was the 'Fins who turned Cameron Wake, a former stock broker and undrafted free agent out of Penn State, into a Pro Bowler.

As for Brown, he gets a second chance at a life in professional sports, albeit in one that he hasn't played competitively in six years.

And if it doesn't work out, the Dolphins can part ways with Brown at little-to-no cost and let him get back to his career on the high seas of finance.

In other words, it's a win-win situation, for Brown as much as for the 'Fins.

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