ESPN: Dolphins Will be Busy at Deadline; Keep an eye on Minkah Fitzpatrick

ESPN: Dolphins Will be Busy at Deadline; Keep an eye on Minkah Fitzpatrick

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN wrote a column with Dan Graziano discussing NFL Trade Deadline buzz as we are getting close to November 4th.

Fowler believes Miami will trade away two edge rushers and one other player.

The other potential player could be Minkah Fitzpatrick or Jaylen Wright.

Per Fowler: “I’ll say two: a pass rusher and one other. The Dolphins have Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb to deal, with Phillips having the most trade value of Miami’s edge rushers. Several personnel departments have been enamored with his trajectory, which was derailed by injury. Miami doesn’t appear ready to give the 2026 free agent an extension. It could be similar to Washington trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the deadline two years ago.

The Dolphins are getting calls on wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, but don’t have plans to trade him at this point. That can always change, but with Tyreek Hill injured, Waddle is a building block who can translate to any offense, which helps for a team that appears headed for major transition. He’s owed $36 million over 2025-26, which is reasonable for high-end players at his position. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is also on my radar. So, while I’m not so sure a complete house-cleaning is in order, it would surprise me if the Dolphins stood pat. This is a team with roster concerns, and those eight 2026 draft picks won’t address them all.”

The Dolphins, at 1-6, are in the middle of a historically bad season, and there is little hope of a second-half turnaround.

Miami has tradable assets that can be shipped off in the coming weeks to help add more draft picks in 2026.

Chubb will most likely bring back a late-round draft pick because he has had 3 ACL injuries and would be a rental, as any team that trades for him will cut him after the season due to his contract.

Phillips is due to hit free agency after this season and is also a rental, so his trade value is probably a late-round pick as well.

Jaylen Wright, if he were to be moved, would fetch nothing more than a late-round pick because he hasn’t shown any production on the NFL level and is a complete unknown.

Minkah Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, just got a new contract and is a perennial Pro Bowl player, so a team looking to add him or acquire him may get Miami a 4th round pick in return, or a conditional pick that could go up to a 3rd depending on playing time and production.

It will be very interesting to see what Miami does at the trade deadline and if Chris Grier is calling the shots or if they have someone else make these trades and decisions.