BY JASON COLE
jcole@herald.com
The Dolphins have held talks with the agent for former New England defensive tackle Keith Traylor, and he is expected to make a decision within a week about where he will sign.
''We've had some talks with two or three teams, including the Dolphins, I think that's a fair way to put it,'' said agent Jordan Woy, who represents Traylor. Woy said the Dolphins discussed a significant role for Traylor, including the chance to compete for a starting job.
The Dolphins are concerned about the health of returning defensive tackles Larry Chester and Tim Bowens. Chester is recovering from a knee injury and is expected to be held out of practices during training camp.
Bowens missed all but one game last season with a back injury, and his rehabilitation has been inconsistent this offseason. In fact, Bowens has walked out of several rehab sessions with the team trainers out of frustration.
Traylor, 34 and heading into his 14th season, is an experienced run-stopper in either the 3-4 or 4-3 defenses Dolphins coach Nick Saban hope to play. Traylor played in 16 games with 10 starts for New England last season, helping the Patriots to their third title in four years.
DISAPPOINTMENT
Saban acknowledged the knee injury cornerback Will Poole sustained last week, although he stopped short of giving any specifics on the injury. Poole, who will have surgery in the next week or two, is expected to miss most or all of next season.
''It's unfortunate when any player gets hurt,'' Saban said. ``But when it happens before the start of the season, it means he doesn't have the opportunity to prove or disprove whether he can contribute to the team's success and to determine what role he can best play. When Will recovers from his injury, hopefully [he'll get] the opportunity to prove what he can or can't do.''
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