Bush Set To Take On S. Florida
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) - The Miami Dolphins needed a veteran running back when free agency opened Tuesday. Early Thursday morning, the Fins acquired their man.
The Dolphins have reached a two-year deal with former New Orleans Saints to acquire running back Reggie Bush. The deal will be for $9.5 million over the two years of the contract, with $5 million in 2011, according to CBS4 new partner the Miami Herald's Jeff Darlington.
Andrew Brandt of nationalfootballpost.com had more details and reported that Bush will receive $2.5 million signing bonus and $2.5 million salary from Dolphins in 2011; $4.5 million plus workout bonuses next year.
In exchange for Bush, the Dolphins sent safety Jonathan Amaya to the Saints. Amaya was a special teams player last season who led the team with 15 special teams tackles.
Bush is set to fly to Miami today, take a physical, sign his contract, and officially become a Miami Dolphin.
Bush tweeted a little after 3 p.m., "Change is never easy but I look forward to building something special in Miami and can't wait to embark on this new journey! Here we go..."
But, due to NFL rules, Bush will not allowed to be on the field until the league year begins, which is scheduled to be August 4th.
- Click here for a Reggie Bush photo gallery
The former number two overall pick had the worst season of his career last season and has been a bust since his rookie season. Still, he has plenty of speed, but has constantly battled injuries in his career.
In five seasons with the Saints, Bush had 524 carries for 2,090 yards and 17 touchdowns, plus another 294 catches for 2,142 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Bush has opined that part of his problem is that he's played so much on turf instead of natural grass. Bush was lethal while he was running on natural grass at USC.
Bush will be a third-down back to catch passes out of the backfield with the Dolphins. He can also return kicks and punts for the Fins.
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