Latest information coming from the Miami Dolphins and Ndamukong Suh

The rumors have been flying around all week in regards to the Miami Dolphins and Ndamukong Suh. I've been following the situation very closely and have been dropping notes on Twitter all week. For those who don't follow me, please do so by searching for @PhinManiacs. 

Every night, I talk to numerous people who are closely connected to the team - whether by employment or through other means. Last night, when I talked to them, they all had the same response and it was that everything was quiet at headquarters. I reported this on Twitter and my report was confirmed by Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. I expect this silence to continue through the weekend. The team, Suh and his Jimmy Sexton (his agent), will be entering the gritty details of negotiations and with this kind of money, one or two wrong statements or leaks can kill an entire deal. 

With that in mind, here's everything I know about the ongoing situation.

• Ndamukong Suh and his agent landed in Fort Lauderdale on Monday evening. I was alerted to this by Chris Barker, a passionate and longtime Dolphins fan. These reports were later confirmed the next morning.
  

• The Miami Dolphins are in the driver's seat with this situation and Suh is theirs to lose. If they are willing to pay the money, he's not going anywhere else and will be announced as a member of the Dolphins on Tuesday at 4 PM EST. 

• However, Suh wants to be the highest paid defender in the NFL. According to Armando Salguero, their camp is looking for $17 million per year and $60 million in guarantees. The Dolphins don't want to pay all of that but would likely do so if it came down to it.

• Other teams have been mentioned as possibilities - Oakland Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts. However, I was given the sense this week that those teams are being used as leverage. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk confirmed that report on WQAM on Friday morning. According to Florio, it's down to the Dolphins and the Detroit Lions.

• It's quiet and on lock-down in Miami but it's not quiet in Detroit. I have been told that the Lions are prepared to move on and will likely not match any offer given to Suh, barring a last minute change of heart.

• Super agent Drew Rosenhaus appeared on WQAM Friday morning and said that knowing Suh and his agent, they are going to pick the Dolphins. Rosenhaus also hinted that the Dolphins would be the team that offers the most money throughout the process.

• Do not believe for a second that the Dolphins haven't reached out to Suh and Sexton. Sexton was Mike Tannebaum's mentor and has worked with him over the years on many contracts. They are also good friends outside of football. No one is trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes in this negotiation.

• Have you been watching ESPN lately? Notice that there is very little talk about Suh? That's because Sexton is the agent for Chris Mortensen and others on the network. If Sexton wanted leverage, this story about Suh being a done deal to Miami would be all over their shows, radio and internet. However, nothing has been said. Sexton wants it this way and will continue with this until he decides, if ever, he needs leverage. 

• To prove this, numerous followers of mine pointed out to me on Thursday morning that Adam Caplan, an NFL insider, said on TV that Suh to Miami was a done deal. He later backed off this and ESPN put him in on an awkward ten second segment on NFL Live later that evening. He said on the show that the Dolphins aren't the front-runners and the team with the most money will get Suh's services. Did Sexton hear about this comment earlier in the day and told ESPN to refute it and talk about money instead? I believe so.

• We said on Tuesday that Tannebaum won't be afraid to get creative with his contract. This is true. Some notes that have been flying around include a low base salary in 2015 with a large signing bonus that is spread out over the life of the contract. The Dolphins will definitely have room to sign him and keep, as we explained here.

• Last year, Suh hired RocNation to take care of his brand and marketing deals. I have been told that Suh will go to the place that offers him the best chance to maximize his brand. Is that Indianapolis, Oakland or Jacksonville? No.

• I reported earlier this week on Twitter that negotiations were on hold with Jared Odrick. This is a change because the Dolphins were ready to offer him a contract before they knew that Suh would be available. If Suh is signed, it is not likely that the Dolphins keep Odrick, although the possibility is still there.

Keep your eyes and ears open for ESPN programming. As I mentioned above, Jimmy Sexton plays a big role with several media personalities. If he wants to keep things quiet, it means the Suh loves Miami, wants to play there and no one wants to do anything to mess the deal up. If we start hearing on ESPN about how other teams are interested in Suh, it means that the Dolphins are balking at the price tag and Sexton is using his resources to drive the price up.

Right now, my confidence level is at 75. The quieter it stays over the weekend from ESPN, the better I will feel heading into Tuesday that the Dolphins end up signing Suh. Stay tuned to this website and on Twitter for all of the latest information over the next few days: @PhinManiacs.