Spring is fading, and the summer heat is rolling in. With it comes NFL training camps and the promise of a clean slate. At this time of the year, hope springs eternal for every NFL fan. Even the most jaded amongst us hold out hope that maybe this year will be the year everything comes together.
For Miami Dolphins fans, we’ve been led to hope that things will be different many times over the past two decades, changes in the form of coaches or players allowing us to claim the title of offseason champions.
In this series of blogs, I want to revisit some of those splashy additions and decide if they were a success or a failure. For the first edition of Hope Springs Eternal, I’m covering the very first massive trade I remember as a millennial Dolphins fan, the trade for David Boston.
Who was David Boston? Some of you younger readers might be wondering. Boston was a 6-foot-2-inch, 228-pound Wide Receiver with 4.32 speed. He was built more like a linebacker than a wide receiver, and for the time, he was an absolute physical freak.
After a solid three-year career at Ohio State, he would enter the NFL draft and be selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 8th pick in the NFL draft. While he started off slow with only 473 yards as a rookie, he improved on that in 2000, posting a stat line of 71 receptions for 1,156 yards and seven touchdowns before exploding in 2001 with 98-1,598-8, while being selected to the Pro Bowl and named an All-Pro. His final year in Arizona was ended by a knee injury, a preview of things to come.
In 2003, the San Diego Chargers added him on an at-the-time massive 7-year $47 million deal with $12 million guaranteed. While he was solid on the field, catching 70 passes for 880 yards and seven touchdowns, he ran afoul of head coach Marty Schottenheimer for getting into a confrontation with a strength coach and was suspended for a game.
After the season concluded, San Diego traded David Boston to the Dolphins for a sixth-round draft pick, a clear indication that the Chargers were simply over the David Boston experience.
When I saw that the Dolphins had added Boston, I was extremely excited. At the time, the Dolphins were regarded as a solid team, having just missed out on the playoffs in 2003 after posting a 10-6 record. Chris Chambers was starting to emerge as a legitimate receiving threat coming off a 64-reception, 963-yard, and 11-touchdown season.
The possibilities seemed endless. With Jay Fielder heading into his fifth season as a starter and talent like Patrick Surtain, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and Brock Marion leading the way on defense, the Dolphins looked like a team that could make some noise.
Unfortunately, things would take a turn almost immediately as Boston tested positive for an HCG infraction. HCG can stimulate testosterone production in men and help with muscle growth. So his Superman-esque physique was not entirely natural, and as such, he would have to serve a four-game suspension.
Then, in August of 2004, he suffered a knee injury in a joint practice with the Houston Texans. These torn ligaments would sideline him for the entirety of the 2004 season, which ended up being a hugely disappointing one for Miami as they dealt with injuries and finished 4-12, leading to head coach Dave Wannstedt resigning after a 1-8 start.
After the 2004 season, the Dolphins cut Boston and re-signed him to the veteran’s minimum for 2005. The 2005 season wasn’t much better for Boston, who played in only five games and caught four balls for 80 yards and zero touchdowns. Boston spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Toronto Argonauts before retiring in 2008.
So, ultimately, Boston served as a cautionary tale for my 12-year-old self to not get too invested in players added during the offseason, no matter how much potential they may show, they can always disappoint you.
