Quietly biding his time through free agency thus far, safety Ryan Clark (Steelers) has gone the route that few undertake in this age of instant celebrity. Instead of flying around the country to drum up interest (and money) for himself, Clark has stayed put at home, preferring instead to hand pick his chosen destinations and only then begin the process of negotiating a contract with his favorite club.

When asked about taking so long to start the process, Clark responded by saying he wants his first visit to be his last.

“Without a question. That’s the reason we waited so long to take any [free agent] trips. We had interested teams that I didn’t really want to go to, and I didn’t want to try to make myself look busy by going to a bunch of different places. There were a lot of good offers, and a lot of good fits. But this seems like a good spot. So I’m praying it goes well.”

– Free agent safety Ryan Clark

His top choice?

Why Miami of course… as if that’s any surprise given the climate, overall strength of the franchise, and nightlife. Anyone who says they wouldn’t prefer to play next to South Beach is lying through their teeth, and while many would love such a chance, Clark is the among a few that actually have the ability to choose the Dolphins as his #1 team and have those feelings reciprocated.

Never mind the fact that he’s one of the better players at his position in the league, or that he suffers from a relatively rare blood disorder that prevents him from traveling with his team to play in Denver due to the high altitude… Clark is deserving of our attention and praise just for his intelligence in handling his free agent status this off-season.

Not many could say they successfully cornered the market so effectively and while it remains to be seen if Clark can finalize a deal with the Dolphins, given his decision making thus far, I suspect he’s got a plan for handling that as well.

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