Dolphins starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper has received medical clearance to practice when the team opens training camp Saturday, coach Nick Saban said Wednesday.

A defensive tackle from Texas State, Evans will receive a $58,500 signing bonus with NFL minimum base salaries of $275,000 in 2006, $360,000 in 2007, $445,000 in 2008 and $530,000 in 2009, the source said.

Former NFL players Cornell Brown, Cris Dishman and Eric Green will work with the Miami Dolphins during training camp as part of the league's minority coaching fellowship.

As part of training camp coaching staffs, the fellowship coaches perform duties that mirror those of full-time NFL assistant coaches. They become working members of NFL staffs for the summer and are responsible for specific assignments, including planning and directing workouts, formulating scrimmage and preseason-game strategies, breaking down videotape, and evaluating players.

Now that offensive tackle Adam Meadows wants back into the NFL and has been freed to go wherever he wants, the Dolphins are one team that Meadows' agent, Don Henderson, has contacted.

''I put in a call in to [Dolphins general manager] Randy Mueller earlier [Tuesday],'' Henderson said. ``I haven't heard back from him yet.''

Running back Ricky Williams broke his left arm in the second quarter of the Toronto Argonauts' 26-23 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night and is out indefinitely.

Dolphins defensive back Siddeeq Shabazz is being investigated for assault by Las Cruces, N.M., police after an altercation outside a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Sunday evening.

The Dolphins on Wednesday signed offensive lineman Joe Toledo, a fourth-round pick from the University of Washington.

Toledo's agent, Bruce Tollner declined to comment on the specifics of the deal, saying only it was a standard four-year contract.

Don Shula is comfortable again with the football franchise he put on the national map. It hasn't always been so in the 11 years -- can it really be that long? -- since he last coached the Dolphins. For too much of that time, Shula has felt estranged from the club or been disappointed to see it adrift.

Now an enthusiasm that had been missing from his voice comes across as he speaks of the 2006 team that opens training camp next week. Now the patriarch feels something about his club that he hasn't in a long time: excitement. A sense that the stagnation that followed his retirement is over.

''Nick Saban has got 'em headed in the right direction,'' Shula said Tuesday of Miami's second-year coach, ``after about nine years of not heading in the right direction.''

Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu, the last of Miami's six rookie draft picks, has agreed to a four-year contract, sources are telling me.

Dom Capers won't have the defensive coordinator title, but that essentially is his job. ''Maybe some day he'll be that, but not this year,'' coach Nick Saban said. Miami is saving a bundle by withholding that title. Now Houston, which fired him as head coach, must pay Capers $2 million in 2006, and Miami only $300,000.

Jason Allen, the Dolphins' first-round draft pick, recently had an arthroscopic knee procedure but will be ready for the opening of training camp on July 28, according to his agent, Mitch Frankel.

Katina Taylor, sister of Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, has filed for divorce from defensive end Jason Taylor, claiming in court documents that the couple's marriage is "irretrievably broken."

... Seau said he plans to hold a press conference within the next two weeks announcing his likely retirement. With the end of his career on the field drawing near, Seau sounded eager to continue his efforts in charity.

"I’m blessed to be where I am," Seau said. "I’ve got a great opportunity to do some great things because of the game of football."

On Saturday, July 8, the Miami Dolphins inflated their new 96,600 square-foot indoor practice facility, which is being built on the west side of the existing training facility building in Davie.

2. The truth is that Nick Saban, who learned NFL defenses under Belichick, will catch or pass the Patriots in the next year. If Daunte Culpepper continues to make his miraculous comeback from triple knee ligament surgery, the Dolphins could catch the Patriots this year. The Patriots are showing signs of slowing down, even though they should win 11 games with a much easier schedule than they had in 2005. Except for Tom Brady and Richard Seymour, the Patriots' roster is running out of Pro Bowl-caliber players. In contrast, Saban is assembling a big, physical team and has a quarterback in Culpepper who can compete with Brady. Saban surprised many by winning nine games as a first-year coach. Coming out of LSU, Saban was about as sure a lock to be a successful NFL coach as we've seen in the past 10 years. He's bright. He's tough. He devises winning game plans. He's building a winner in Miami. The Dolphins-Patriots battles should be good for years with Belichick and Saban going at it. Saban can't get too lax, though, because the Patriots had a good draft. If Miami slips for a year or two, the Pats will be back challenging for the AFC East.

Reports saying the Miami Dolphins were renovating their stadium seem to understate what construction workers are up to on site.

Team and stadium owner H. Wayne Huizenga is spending more than $250 million adding and renovating about 360,000 square feet, said Dolphins Enterprises CEO Joe Bailey. That's the equivalent of building a 32-story office building. ...

Bailey is tight-lipped about details of the changes, saying renderings will be out in July, but the hiring of a New York City design firm known for trendy clubs and hotels indicates an end to utilitarian concourses and concessions.

"Great service and fun," is one of the phrases Bailey used to characterize plans.

Tovar, 36, will serve as a member of Miami's football operations staff. His duties will include everything from breaking down game tape to drawing up plays and charts for practices. Tovar could be groomed for a coaching position on Nick Saban's staff.