The Harrington Family Foundation

HIS TIME IN DETROIT ENDING, THE EX-UO STAR DRAWS THE MOST INTEREST FROM THE DOLPHINS

It's remarkable what can happen in the NFL while you're out of town.

Last month, when the Detroit Lions made the moves that signaled Joey Harrington would no longer be their quarterback, Harrington was on vacation in Thailand.

Wednesday, when Harrington informed Lions President Matt Millen that he had decided Miami was the next place he would put on a helmet, Harrington was in Washington, D.C.

"Whether it happens tomorrow or next week or in June when the Lions would have to release me, I'm going to be a Dolphin," Harrington said by phone Wednesday.

He said he couldn't say much else about the situation. The Lions can work a trade, or they can release him. Either way, he's gone. Detroit isn't going to keep him past June 15, when Harrington would be due a $4 million roster bonus.

Harrington has been moving toward this moment, really, since the end of the season. But the path was solidified last month. In Detroit for a three-day quarterback camp, he eventually came to the decision that remaining with the Lions wasn't going to work, the situation was too poisonous -- even with a new coaching staff. So the sides parted ways.

At last month's NFL meetings, Millen told the Detroit Free Press that he didn't think Harrington had ever been put in a position to succeed in Detroit.

"You see the skills," Millen said. "What I don't know is, how do those skills manifest themselves when he's in a system that utilizes them? I don't know that."

The Lions signed quarterbacks Jon Kitna and Josh McCown. Harrington went looking for a good fit.

Earlier this year, the Dolphins acquired quarterback Daunte Culpepper from the Minnesota Vikings. Culpepper is coming off surgery to repair three ligaments in his right knee, but he told reporters in Miami this month that he expects to be ready for the season opener. Interestingly, this season the Lions play host to the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day.

Harrington said Wednesday that the Dolphins showed the most interest in him and will give him the best opportunity to get some work. He declined to give any details as to the length of the contract he will sign with the Dolphins. If it works out that he backs up Culpepper, he said that's fine.

The move will reunite Harrington with former Oregon teammate Justin Peelle, a tight end who last month signed with the Dolphins as a free agent.

Harrington was in Washington, D.C., after Tuesday night's NFL Players Gridiron Gala. He was a finalist for the Byron "Whizzer" White Award, for the player who exemplifies leadership, dedication and commitment to team and community.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair won.

Soon, perhaps, Harrington is going to have a new team and community.

"I'm just looking forward to getting to work with my new teammates and earning their respect, more than anything," he said.