Dolphins making ‘strong push’ to keep Jake Long

Jake Long spent Thursday taking a marathon physical with the St. Louis Rams, and the two sides were “hammering out” a contract.

Not so fast.

There is still a chance that Long could return to the Miami Dolphins, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2008. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported early Friday morning that the Dolphins were making a “strong push” to re-sign the offensive tackle.

After the deluge of spending in South Beach on the first day of free agency, it was all but assumed that Long wouldn’t return to Miami. All the signs coming out of St. Louis on Thursday seemed to confirm that sentiment.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the Rams were “OK with him medically,” so the report that the Dolphins are back in the running could be a move to try and get more money for the recently injury-prone tackle.

Rappoport reported earlier this month that Long was seeking $11 million annually. In the current market it looked like Long would have to settle for far less than that.

If the big-spending Dolphins are back in the thick of the Long race, a deal might not be as close to a finish as we thought.