One recent NFL trade deadline deal offers the blueprint for what the Dolphins should demand if they're serious about trading Jaelan Phillips

Hear me out, a former first-round pass rusher is on a struggle franchise and potentially available for a trade deadline deal. He's still on his rookie contract and is playing in the final year of that deal. After a promising start to his career as a pro, which included a career high in sacks during his rookie season, he's struggled the past two years with missed time. Those issues have marred by major injury. But the contract year performance has been sturdy despite the struggles of the unit overall.

I'm talking about Jaelan Phillips, right?

No, try again. This is the journey of former 2020 first-round pass rusher Chase Young. The trade the Commanders consummated with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 should serve as the blueprint of what the Dolphins ask in return for Phillips.

Details of the Chase Young trade at the 2023 NFL trade deadline

• Washington receives: A 2024 third-round compensatory pick
• San Francisco receives: EDGE defender Chase Young
• Trade completed on October 31, 2023

Chase Young posted 7.5 sacks his rookie season as a top-5 draft choice, tore his ACL in November of his second season in the pros and missed 22 games with his recovery. He logged just 1.5 sacks between his 2021 and 2022 seasons as a result but was healthy enough to play in a contract year in 2023.

By November, Young was traded to San Francisco for a late third-round draft choice in the following spring's NFL Draft.

That's exactly where Miami should land with Phillips. And the argument here is simple, beyond the precedent set by the Chase Young deal. If Miami were to retain Phillips and his demand stayed high into free agency, he'd likely sign a contract that qualifies him for a fourth-round selection at worst via the league's compensatory pick formula. The Dolphins, amid their pending reset, should not be expected to be big spenders next spring in free agency as they reset their books.

You want Phillips? Make Miami an offer that incentivizes the team to take something better than the math says they'll get if they simply let him walk. And that number just so happens to fall directly in line with what the Commanders got for Young — a third-round draft choice.

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