Dolphins Wanting Boldin?

This is a source from the Sun Sentinel
By Ted Hutton | South Florida Sun-Sentinel



Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin motioned to the table behind him Friday evening where Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin was signing autographs.

"Any team would be smart to get him," Irvin said when asked if the receiver-needy Dolphins should be looking to make a trade with the Cardinals, who said this week they are entertaining deals for Boldin.

Irvin said if he were starting a team, his first choice of receiver would be Boldin, even ahead of Arizona's other receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, who sat two players away from Boldin at the autograph table set in the Pahokee High School gym.

"He's a beast. He's physically aggressive, and I want that on my offense because it sends a message to the defense," Irvin said about Boldin.

Irvin had come to Pahokee at the invitation of Boldin, who was hosting the fifth annual Q-Festival, a three-day event that raises money for the Anquan Boldin Foundation, which supports youths and charities in Pahokee, Boldin's home town.

Boldin, who has asked to be traded since after the 2007 season, when Fitzgerald signed a $40 million, four-year extension, had earlier expressed an interest in the Dolphins but wouldn't go into specifics Friday.

"For me, the entire situation is completely out of my hands. [Arizona] will do what is in the best interest of the team. I have to sit back and wait. Life will go on," Boldin said.

Boldin's agent, Drew Rosenhaus was on hand for Friday's event, but he wouldn't discuss the situation, other than to say he was being lobbied hard by Cardinals players to keep him on the team and by members of other teams to get him on their side.

The Dolphins may not be willing to pay the price for Boldin, with the Cardinals said to be asking for a first- and third-round pick in next weekend's draft.

Boldin (6 feet 1, 217 pounds) is 28 and went to Florida State before being drafted in the second round in 2003 by the Cardinals, where he has played the last six seasons.

He has 502 catches for 6,496 yards and 40 touchdowns and he and Fitzgerald are considered the top wide receiver tandem in the NFL.

Fitzgerald said he is doing all he can to keep Boldin as a teammate, including talking to management.