Dolphins Need To Start Trading Players To Begin Rebuilding Process

Dolphins Need To Start Trading Players To Begin Rebuilding Process

The Miami Dolphins had a 17-0 lead against the Carolina Panthers and blew the game in an embarrassing collapse that showed the fans that this team is officially going nowhere if you didn’t believe that before today. 

The Dolphins are now 1-4 in what was supposed to be the “easy part” of the schedule. The Dolphins have proven that this team is going nowhere with this group, and they should start looking to trade players who can bring value to help build for the future.

The problem is, I don’t really see the Dolphins getting a lot for some of the players on the roster.

However, the Dolphins could acquire some assets in the future for players who won’t be here in 2-3 years, creating cap space for the future as well. 

The question is, who could the Dolphins trade and get a good return on? 

 Jaelan Phillips  

The Dolphins are stuck between a rock and a hard place on this because Phillips is on his 5th year option from his rookie contract because he had two seasons with season-ending injuries. Phillips was starting to come into his own in 2023 until he tore his Achilles tendon, and then last year, he tore his ACL.

He is back and healthy, but the reality is he may not be the player he was a couple of years ago, and the Dolphins might not be able to re-sign him after the season, so why not get something in return now instead of waiting two years for a compensatory pick? The thing is, edge rushers are a premium position, and there may be a team out there that could use a pass rusher and might want to re-sign Phillips.

If that happens, maybe the Dolphins get a 3rd round pick this year instead of waiting an extra year. Phillips probably won’t be part of the future, and it’s sad with the two injuries because of what could have been. 

Bradley Chubb  

If not Phillips, then why not Bradley Chubb? Just like Phillips, Chubb is coming off a bad knee injury from 2023 and missed all of 2024. Just like Phillips, Chubb was having a great 2023 and was starting to reach his full potential, but the ACL tear got in the way. The Dolphins traded a 1st round pick to get Chubb and gave him a new $100 million contract. The Dolphins haven’t gotten the return on their investment, and the fact is, Chubb had to restructure his contract and take a pay cut to stay with the team this year.

Like I said earlier, pass rusher is a premium position, and a contender might be willing to give a premium pick and be willing to work with Chubb on his contract since there are no guarantees past this year.  

Jaylen Wright 

Jaylen Wright was inactive against the Panthers today, and it made me think the Dolphins might have a trade in place with another team. The reason I felt that is because there have been instances in other sports where a team doesn’t suit up a player because they have a trade working and don’t want the player getting hurt. I just found it curious considering the Dolphins didn’t call up any running backs for their game and only had two running backs active.

The Dolphins traded up to get Wright in the 2024 draft and gave up a third-round pick in the following year’s draft, but Wright hasn’t been on the field much, and when he got hurt, it opened the door for rookie Ollie Gordon. Wright is also on his rookie contract, but I doubt the Dolphins would get more than a very late round draft pick.