It's a saga that has remained mostly unexplained. When Roth arrived for training camp this year, he blamed a failed conditioning test on being ill -- only to later come forward with an admission about a groin injury.

After trainers struggled to diagnose the issue, Roth was sent to Philadelphia to meet with a leading groin specialist, Dr. William Meyers. The evaluation did not reveal any significant issues, and Roth returned with what seemed to be an optimistic report.

But according to multiple sources at the time, Roth continued to sit out of practice. with no further explanation other than to say his groin was still sore. The strange situation caused the team to go forward without him, moving Jason Taylor into the strong-side linebacker role where Roth served as a starter throughout 2008.

On Oct. 31, Roth was reactivated to the 53-man roster, seeming to regain his standing with the team. That decision served as the last formal move until Tuesday's announcement by Miami that he had been cut.

The most recent source to speak on the situation stressed that Roth's departure was based strictly on Miami's plans for the future, as well as Roth's performance -- but that it was not a result of any lingering feelings from the training camp situation.

He and his representatives approached the Dolphins about a contract extension over the summer but were turned down. Roth must pass through waivers before he can sign with a team of his choosing. Any team that claims him on Wednesday will inherit his existing contract, which pays around $605,000 this season.

I haven't read anywhere yet where he had surgery.. more like the doctors couldn't find anything wrong.

http://www.miamiherald.com/416/story/1349713.html?storylink=omni_popular 

A Closer Look at Matt Roth

by David Davenport on September 1, 2009
Miami Dolphins linebacker Matt Roth

What was initially deemed an injury that isnt significant, has since caused quite a stir among concerned fans, and seemingly throughout the Miami Dolphins organization as well. There is either a disagreement about the severity of the injury between Matt Roth and the Dolphins, or information being withheld by the team.

Most likely its a little bit of both. No team in the NFL is going to expose every detail about injured players, not only for competitive purposes but for public relations reasons as well.

After every season, we hear about players playing with injuries that they have no business being active with; which many teams go to great lengths to keep secret to prevent not only the opposing team from knowing the severity of the injuries, but also to avoid the negative press. The NFL teams operate like any other business, and no corporation is going to reveal that they force employees to work while sick for the same reason.

With that in mind, lets take a look at a couple of the potential scenarios and outcomes for Roth.

With Roth in a contract year and being represented by Drew Rosenhaus, it seems almost natural to assume that this whole situation is an alternative ploy to get a new deal. While most people wont argue that Roth is worth more than his $550,000 base salary, its very unlikely that this is the sole reason behind him sitting out.

Rosenhaus would have made it clear far before the start of training camp that his client was unhappy with his current deal, and typically he advises his clients to publically voice their displeasure with the situation. However, I do feel that Roth being in a contract year is playing a small rolemore on that in a moment.

So, if it isnt about the money, it must be the groin right? Since he has had a lingering groin problem dating back to the 08 season, we can assume that were dealing with partial tears and most likely a sports hernia.

Early in camp Roth was sent to William Meyers, a leading specialist in groin and sports hernia issues, and reports from the team have said the evaluation was mostly optimistic. The issue at this point though, is not Roth being medically cleared to play. Its now about him feeling well enough to play.

Seeing as Roth previously had surgery on the groin in January, he most likely went through the majority of the season last year with a similar issue. Even after surgery, the only real way to recover from a groin injury is to avoid strenuous physical activitywhich was most likely his original plan. The groin probably began acting up again near the start of camp, which caused Roth to consider staying off of it until he felt up to par. The only problem is it has taken much longer than anticipated.

Last season, Roth was often dominant at the point of attack, displaying a rare combination of upper body strength, hip fluidity, and quick feet that allowed him to dictate the opposing offenses rushing attack. The average fan may not know Matt Roth, but his play did not go unnoticed by coaches around the league.

Rosenhaus knows this, and also knows that Roth will have to duplicate his success and more than likely build on it in his second year at his position if he wants to be compensated accordingly. So, from Roths point of view, it makes sense for him to be as healthy as he possibly can before putting himself on display again. Weve seen far too many players being under appreciated contract wise because of lingering injuries that theyve allowed to limit their level of play.

Its a frustrating situation for the Dolphins, who know that Roth is more than capable of playing through his injury (because theyve seen it before). But in the coming days theyre going to have to make a decision themselves. Typically it takes 4-6 weeks for most groin injuries to heal under ideal circumstances. Anything longer is typically going to require surgery, and youre looking at an even longer recovery time.

If Roth is placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, hell be unable to play until Week 6, and then hell have 3 weeks of practice before the team has to decide whether or not to place him on Injured Reserve (IR). Considering Roth has been medically cleared to play, it seems unlikely he has any injury that would cause him to sit out the season.

Right now, the film the front offices around the league have of Roth show him playing the 6 Technique at a high level. Were Roth to come back and allow his groin injury to hinder his play, he would be costing himself a substantial amount of money in the upcoming free agent market.

Of course if the Dolphins decide to place him on IR, that would arguably have an even greater impact on his value.

I read he had the surgery last January and tried to hide it from the team.

Edit-- "Hide" might be a bad word or description, but something happened where Roth was initially b.s. ing the Dolphins, they called him on it, and eventually Rosenass "came clean" about the groin injury. I do not know if they knew about the surgery or not for sure, but it seemed like Roth was representing that it was a "done" issue, when it was not...OR they thought he was faking it, OR dogging it.

I DO remember reading that he did have a groin surgery in January...I'm almost certain of it.

"dfosterf" wrote:

Matt Roth was a wanted man today.
The Cleveland Browns, who landed the former second-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins, were just one of six teams that put in a waiver claim for the defensive end/outside linebacker, according to an NFL source.
The Browns won by virtue of their 1-9 record, and Sundays 38-37 loss to the Detroit Lions was the difference. The Lions defeated the Browns on an untimed down after a pass interference penalty. Had that not happened, the Lions would have landed Roth, as they also placed a claim for him.
In order, Roth was also claimed by: San Francisco, Jacksonville, Minnesota and Indianapolis.
How much better would Roth have felt heading to the Vikings or Colts?

Alas, he was at least a warm body.

Poppinga can get it done, but isn't a game changer.

Can Thompson get it together and play with some fire?

Jones was assignment sure in Dallas, but can he rush the passer?

Might be time to give Chillar some burn at OLB, he's a solid football player and IMO, miles ahead of Jones, Poppinga, and Thompson.

"millertime" wrote: