Brent Grimes Impressing Dolphins Teammates
By Mike Dyce
The Miami Dolphins felt like they had immediately improved their defense when they added Brent Grimes amongst other defensive free agents they signed. Now the cornerback is impressing his new teammates despite being undersized and small in stature.
“Every day Brent Grimes does something where we’re like, ‘that guy is a freak athletically.’ Blows my mind,” said tight end Charles Clay. “If you look at his stature, he’s not the biggest guy, but he does something every day to catch our eye.
“He has the quarterbacks saying, ‘I’m not going to throw to that guy.'”
Dolphins center Mike Pouncey chimed in on Grimes’ stellar practices this offseason.
“It is hard to even believe it when you see him walking around that locker room,” Pouncey said. “But when he puts on that football helmet he’s an amazing football player. He’s so competitive. Every day we’re out there he’s making plays.
“He’s got the receiver group going harder than they’ve ever gone before.”
New wide receiver Mike Wallace has noticed as well.
“I like Brent. I liked him as a player before I ever got here. It’s a little different going (against) a guy so short,” Wallace said. “He’s one of the most athletics guys I’ve ever seen. He can jump, he can run, he can do it all. He plays a lot bigger than his height.”
Grimes, who entered the league in 2006 as an undrafted free agent from Division II Shippensburg University (Pa.), never thought size was important for cornerbacks.
“I don’t really look at corner as a big position for the most part,” said Grimes. “Most corners are about 5-11 … I mean, I’m not 5-6. I’m short but this is just what I do. I make plays, I compete. That makes up for it.”