5 Players Dolphins Should Consider Moving at Trade Deadline

Folks, it’s time to talk about the Miami Dolphins becoming sellers at the NFL trade deadline November 4, exactly three weeks from Tuesday. The team is 1-5 after a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the vibes couldn’t be worse. 

There’s a whole conversation to be had about whether a team led by two people — general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel — trying to save their jobs will be willing to move veteran players. 

We’re going to set that aside for now and assume the Dolphins are at least willing to make some decisions that are better for the team’s future. 

Without any inside information, here are five players we think the team should consider moving at the deadline. 

Jaelan Phillips, Edge Rusher 

The case for moving Jaelan Phillips is pretty straightforward. He’s playing on his fifth-year option, and he’s probably the most valuable asset the Dolphins can offer. 

Phillips is just 26 years old and is playing reasonably well this season despite lacking sack numbers and failing to wrap up Justin Herbert in Week 6. He has a respectable pressure percentage of 17.2, and he’s recorded 20 total pressures. 

If the Dolphins don’t plan on extending him or making an effort to re-sign him next offseason, there’s zero reason to hold on to him. Not paying Phillips would be fair if Miami is undergoing a full offseason rebuild, especially given his lengthy injury history. 

Miami could rely on the compensatory formula to get something back for Phillips, but that doesn’t always work out. 

Contending teams like the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts are desperate for edge rushing help, and Phillips fits much better into their contending window. 

Bradley Chubb, Edge Rusher 

The Dolphins should consider moving Bradley Chubb for many of the same reasons. There will be a lot of teams desperate for edge rushing help, and Chubb’s pedigree could fetch the Dolphins a respectable draft pick. 

Unlike Phillips, Chubb isn’t in the last year of his contract. However, his deal has zero guarantees after this season, so it’s hard to imagine he’ll be in Miami’s plans past 2025. 

That would also give the team that acquires him a clean out if they’re not interested in retaining him after this season. 

Chubb has four sacks this season, but if you look deeper at the numbers (and watch the tape), he hasn’t played well since returning from a season-ending injury in 2023. His pressure percentage is just 11.1, and he’s been a liability against the run. 

Still, if a contending team wants to round out a pass-rushing stable for a Super Bowl run, Chubb could be a valuable piece of the puzzle. 

That profile might only fetch the Dolphins a mid or late Day 3 pick, but that’s the life of a team off to a 1-5 start with its key decision-makers on the hot seat. 

Rasul Douglas, Cornerback 

Douglas has been one of the few bright spots on Miami’s defense this season. The ball production hasn’t returned, and he’s still not a dynamic man-coverage player, but he’s a respectable starter — something a lot of teams could use at cornerback. 

He’s only allowed 62.2 percent of his targets to become completions, and that’s in a defense that is willing to give up a lot of easy access throws. Douglas has also proven to be a solid run defender this season. 

Miami signed him in August, so getting anything of value for him would be a win. Given his age (31) and overall limited upside, it doesn’t make sense to keep him around past this season. 

At 1-5, the Dolphins would be much better served by giving that playing time to Ethan Bonner or Storm Duck, whenever the latter returns to the field.

The Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears could all use some cornerback help. 

Jaylen Wright, Running Back 

We’ve covered why trading Wright is unlikely in the past, but given that he’s been a healthy inactive the past two weeks, it’s worth discussing. 

The Dolphins traded a third-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft to select Wright in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft, and he hasn’t done much since then. 

He had 249 carries for 68 yards as a rookie, but was essentially phased out of the offensive game plan after Week 12 of last season. 

It’s been a tough couple of months for Wright, who was competing for the RB2 spot before suffering an injury during the final week of the preseason. You’d be right to point out that it would be early for Miami to give up on him, and that there probably wouldn’t be much of a market. 

However, perhaps the Dolphins could flip him for an underachieving player at another position — one who might see the field this season. Trades of that nature are becoming more common in the NFL, and the Dolphins wouldn’t be crazy for considering one. 

Benito Jones, Defensive Tackle 

If we’re being honest, Jones lands on this list for the sake of making it to five names. It’s hard to imagine a team trading something valuable for him, but from the Dolphins’ perspective, getting a sixth- or seventh-round pick for Jones is a win. 

Jones had his best game of the season against the Chargers in Week 6, and a team looking for a depth option on the interior might consider him an upgrade. 

The Dolphins overhauled the interior defensive line room this offseason, and removing Jones could allow them to get more reps for Jordan Phillips, who has performed admirably this season, and elevate Zeek Biggers from the practice squad. 

At 1-5, it’s probably more valuable to see if Biggers can be a rotational player next season than affording more reps to Jones, who’s been an average at best player throughout his career. 

Again, this is a long shot, but it’s hard to find five players on the Dolphins that another team would be legitimately interested in and that the Dolphins would move.  

Sure, you could include De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle, but those players are young and — for now — cheap enough to be a part of the Dolphins’ next window.