ESPN: DT Wright Asks Dolphins For Release...(Fins say no) *UPDATED*

[Hostile]

Updated: Aug. 10, 2006, 12:23 PM ET
DT Wright asks Dolphins to release him


Associated Press

Second-year defensive tackle Manny Wright, the subject of ridicule last summer when cameras captured him crying on the field after being chastised by Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban, has asked to be released, citing an ongoing bout with depression and his desire for a fresh start with a new team.


Wright told the Palm Beach Post that, while he appreciated the Dolphins' concern for him, he felt that it would be better if he resumed his career elsewhere.

"I just want to move on and I want [the Dolphins] to move on," Wright said. "I wish Coach Saban the best, but I wish he would do me this favor and let me go."

Reached at his home in California early Thursday morning, Wright's father, Terence Wright, confirmed that his son has been depressed "for a while now" and that he "needs to get things in order in his life and in his career."

Terence Wright said that family members will travel to South Florida this week to join his son there and attempt to aid him. He said he had "no idea" if his son will rejoin the Dolphins, and emphasized that Manny Wright's well-being is more important than football right now.

The Dolphins on Wednesday were granted a roster exemption for Wright, who has not practiced since last Friday, and who had been demoted to the third-team defense. The maneuver means Wright will not count against the Miami roster. The exemption lasts until teams reduce their rosters to the regular-season limit of 53 players early next month.

Saban had referred to Wright's absence from the practice field as a "personal matter."

Miami used a fifth-round choice in last summer's supplemental draft to select Wright, an underachiever during his career at Southern California, but a player with undeniably rare physical skills. Early in camp last July, after a practice in which he was reluctant to participate because he claimed he was experiencing back problems, Wright was lectured by Saban while leaving the field. Cameras captured Wright using his uniform jersey to dab away tears.

In his rookie season, Wright played sparingly, appearing in only four games, and registering four tackles and one sack.

He reported for minicamps this spring overweight, and admitted he had gained 20 pounds because he could not resist his mother's home cooking. Saban said early in training camp that he still felt Wright could be a force in the league. But in practices, Wright did not stand out, and was not challenging for a starting job on a unit that needs one of its young tackles to step up. Wright said part of his sluggishness was a side-effect of the antidepressants prescribed for him.

A team source said the Dolphins are considering their options but noted that there likely will not be a quick resolution to the situation. Given his lack of production on the field, and his bout with depression, Wright probably doesn't have much value in the trade market. Miami invested a $190,000 signing bonus in Wright when it signed him to a four-year contract last summer, and that could be a factor in any eventual decision about his football future. Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here

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Second-year defensive tackle Manny Wright can asked to be released, but the Miami Dolphins aren't interested in doing so.

Wright, the subject of ridicule last summer when cameras captured him crying on the field after being chastised by coach Nick Saban, has asked to be released, citing an ongoing bout with depression and his desire for a fresh start with a new team.

Saban, however, is not interested in releasing the lineman, he told the Palm Beach Post. "Our players do not determine what their outcome is relative to their future," Saban told the paper. "We don't have any of this stuff, 'When it doesn't work here, let me go someplace else.' That's not how it is. If you're not capable, we'll certainly support you and help you. But if you're not interested in doing that, then we determine your fate. You don't."

 

[CrazyCowboy]

This guy obviously needs some help.....

 

[sbuscha]

Crying on the field after being yelled at? I am sure he would committ suicide if Parcells got ahold of him

 

[AbeBeta]

Isn't this the point where folks jump up and say "we should pick this guy up!" or "we'd be stupid not to sign him!"

 

[EMMITTnROY]

I feel bad for this guy, I really do.. We are all human.. Even 300 pound, tough football players can get their feelings hurt.. I'm sure he has been made fun of every day since it happened, so I can see why he would want a new start in a new place..

that being said, Parcells probably isn't the best answer for him..

 

[Alexander]

This can be titled:

Amazing how a week can change things

OR

Don't always believe what you read in feel-good articles (from a local paper a week ago):

Wright seeing the light with Dolphins

By Harvey Fialkov
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
(MCT)
DAVIE, Fla. - It's been a tad over a year since then-overweight Dolphins rookie defensive tackle Manuel Wright was caught on camera shedding tears after getting chewed out by coach Nick Saban for not behaving like a mature professional during a training camp practice session.
Teammates placed a box of tissues on his car dashboard.
Wright is still working on shedding that tissue-soft image, as well as some pounds on his 6-foot-6, 340-pound frame, but strides are being made as he bids for snaps while spelling veteran Keith Traylor (37 next month).
"I'm a young guy," said Wright, 22, who the Dolphins selected with the fifth pick of the 2005 supplemental draft after his sophomore season at Southern California. "You learn things from going through hard things, and I made it in my head that I wasn't going to come back in the same kind of shape.
"I knew what to expect out of this camp from going through it last year and basically see that it couldn't get no worse."
Despite Wright's vow to return in better shape at minicamp in June, he admitted to gaining more than 20 pounds while devouring his mother's cooking in the offseason.
"He's a friend, and as one of his peers, you don't want to see a guy ever stifle himself or his career by things he can control, like your weight," said defensive tackle Vonnie Holliday. "Manny's a guy who's had some issues, but he's working through them. ... You try to encourage him. You try to get him going in the right direction. I think he's going to be fine."
Wright has lost all but 2 1/2 of those pounds since, but eyebrows were raised again when he skipped both of Wednesday's practice sessions due to illness. His absence may have instigated an emotional sermon from Saban on the value of self-motivation.
"When we go down to the defensive line drills, me, Vonnie and Jeff (Zgonina) shouldn't be the first ones running over to every drill," said defensive end Kevin Carter. "There should be a bunch of young guys who are way younger than me and feel better than I do. They should be ahead of us. They should be going, clawing. `I want a piece of that pie.""
Perhaps pie wasn't the right metaphor for Wright, who did display talent in his NFL debut. After spending the first 13 games of his career on the inactive list, Wright filled in for Traylor and sacked J.P. Losman in a 24-23 victory over Buffalo.
"That was my first game and I was a little bit nervous - actually, I was really nervous - but after the first couple of plays, I was like, `OK, practice is harder than this,"" Wright said.
According to ESPN.com, of the 34 players selected in the supplemental draft since 1977, the average career span is three years or less.
"There's an old saying that you never really arrive," Saban said. "You always keep trying to strive to get better. He's made a lot of improvement from where he was last year at this time.
"I think his development is certainly something that we want to continue to try to support because he is a big man."
But in case the big man gets too big, Saban is stocking the shelves with young, large defensive tackles such as Kevin Vickerson, the 2005 seventh-round pick who spent his rookie season on injured reserve, and two more seventh-round DTs this year in Frederick Evans and Rodrique Wright (out with a shoulder injury).
Wright said since the nationally televised crying episode he's gained a thicker skin, emotionally that is, and feels his nickname - Manny Fresh - proves he's one of the guys.
"They treat me with a lot of respect, they all call me by my little nickname," Wright said. "It's like ... not lovey-dovey, but it's like, you can tell I'm part of the family now."
For now.

 

[diamond cutter]

This guy obviously needs some help.....

Yeah, it makes you wonder if the guy really wants to play football. I know that not everyone reacts the same motivational tactics. I hope he gets an opportunity to figure it all out.

 

[Alexander]

Yeah, it makes you wonder if the guy really wants to play football.

Wright sounds more mentally ill than just lazy and unmotivated.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Wright sounds more mentally ill than just lazy and unmotivated.

That's what I was thinking.

Which is odd as we were just talking about the Maurice C issue recently.

One appears to be lazy or just making stupid decisions where this guy really seems to have problems.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

This is the kid who went in his pants also, correct?

 

[DanTanna]

He should have said that a family member had just died and he was in an emotional state, then kicked the nearest guy to him in the nuts. Now that's tough!

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

This is the kid who went in his pants also, correct?

Did he...I remember someone last year pulling a Willie Blade but could not remember who it was.

 

[joseephuss]

I thought the article was going to be about Rodrigue Wright.

 

[cowboyblue31]

Isn't this the point where folks jump up and say "we should pick this guy up!" or "we'd be stupid not to sign him!"

i was thinking the same thing...

 

[dougonthebench]

Isn't this the point where folks jump up and say "we should pick this guy up!" or "we'd be stupid not to sign him!"

please dont give anyone any ideas!

 

[notherbob]

On a personal level I feel sorry for him, but on a dootball level, it doesn't matter. Football is really about the botton line and the bottom line here is he underachieved in College and he has underachieved so far at the pro level. He has not demonstrated the mental toughness needed for the job and appears to have emotional problems that are affecting his ability to function in his workplace.

Nope, doesn't look like the Cowboys are the place for him...Pro football isn't going to be the place for him if he does not develop a different outlook on things and lose that emotional baggage he's dragging around. He clearly needs counselling, but is this the time for that when you're a football player? My guess is one of his teammates may have said or done something to set him off - who knows? Does it matter? The bottom line is that right now he's a problem not a solution. Maybe he would do better somewhere else.