One of the Dolphins' AFC East rivals just traded away a highly paid defender but it's actually going to cost Miami a player, too

Miami's secondary has already been subjected to a whole bunch of turnover this season. There's been injuries to starters like Kader Kohou, unexpected signings and releases, such as what we saw unfold with veteran Mike Hilton, plus a slew of hamstring issues that cost several defensive backs valuable time in the first half of the season.

Now, one of the team's promising young undrafted rookies from the 2025 class is being plucked off the practice squad by New England to fill the void that's being left behind by the trade of Dugger.

John Saunders Jr.'s career with the Miami Dolphins

• Played college football at Ole Miss
• Went undrafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, signing with Miami as a UDFA
• Reportedly signed off the Dolphins' practice squad to New England's active roster, per report by the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson and others

Miami has plenty of youth and competition in their safety room between names like rookie Dante Trader Jr., second-year safety Patrick McMorris, and the younger veterans such as Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis. They should, in the grand scheme of things, survive this poaching of their roster just fine. But it does add a little extra sting to know a player you've liked and invested in will now be suiting up for a divisional rival.

Whether Saunders Jr. sticks or not, who knows? This probably has more to do with New England's pre-draft evaluation of the player, given that he'd taken a pre-draft visit with New England and only played 84 defensive snaps in the preseason with Miami and was clearly behind Jordan Colbert, another UDFA safety who Miami has since converted to linebacker.

We'll see if Saunders Jr. is still on the active roster and dressing on game days at the end of the season when Miami pulls up to play the Patriots for their second matchup of the season in Week 18.

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