The Miami Dolphins already have shown they're not afraid of making big moves as they try to get back to prominence, and it could be that they'll have the opportunity to make more before the NFL trade deadline arrives next Tuesday.
And while the idea of accumulating more draft capital for 2027 and possibly beyond certainly is intriguing - because quality cheap labor might be the best way to fast-track a rebuilding project -the Dolphins should be careful and understand that oftentimes the best moves are the ones that aren't made.
We've already seen several teams with poor records move big-name players ahead of the deadline, with the Tennessee Titans trading Jeffery Simmons and the Indianapolis Colts trading Quenton Nelson and DeForrest Buckner, and the consensus from national media folks is that this was just the beginning.
There is speculation about a lot of different contending teams looking to add that potential final piece, whether it be the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants or even the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
And it's only natural to look at the Dolphins because at 1-6 they're clearly not going to the playoffs this season, so maybe they could be interested to make some deals.
Don't think the Dolphins are surprised by their poor record because they're not, and head coach Jeff Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan said many times in the lead-up to the regular season that building a contender would take some time and this season wasn't all about wins and losses.
It might even be too much to expect for the Dolphins to become playoff contenders in 2027, but one would think -and hope -that's going to be the goal heading into the next season after this season of foundation building and player evaluation and development.
And a team hoping to contend can't just have a bunch of second- and third-year players. The Dolphins are going to need some leaders to lead the way, and those happen to be the players who would have the most trade value right now.
The question the Dolphins have to ask themselves is whether they're better off having Zach Sieler around again in 2027 or rookie a third-round pick (assuming they could even get that much for him). Same goes for Jordyn Brooks.
Beyond the leadership that both players provide, they also happen to be the team's best defensive lineman and best linebacker (with all apologies to much-ballyhooed rookie Jacob Rodriguez).
Trading away good players isn't really the way to build a competitive or, better, contending team.
Even with less established players, the Dolphins have to ask themselves again whether a late-round pick would be more valuable than having Josh Uche back or even Austin Jackson, with the important caveat that bringing either player back in 2027 would have to work financially.
And what's the bottom price the Dolphins should accept for any player?
It says here that anything past a fifth-round pick isn't worth it unless a final determination has been made that a player won't be back in 2027 for whatever reason.
The Dolphins had two picks beyond the fifth round this year, and neither sixth-round pick DJ Campbell nor seventh-round selection Max Llewellyn currently sits on the 53-man roster. And if ever there was a year to keep a draft pick around, this was it.
Of course, the flip side is the performance of Ollie Gordon II to counteract the idea that a sixth-round pick simply isn't that valuable, but he's the exception rather than the rule.
And the point remains with Uche, for example, that he's played well enough to earn a new contract with Miami and would be more valuable than a late-round pick.
Look, we like the idea of having extra picks as much as the next guy, and it looks like it really benefited the Dolphins this year, but the Dolphins just don't have any assets to really load up the way they did for the 2020 draft when they were able to get a bounty for Laremy Tunsil and then basically were semi-forced to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick because he wanted no part of a rebuild.
This is a different situation, and the Dolphins need to treat it as such.
By all accounts, the rebuilding project is off to a very good start and it very well could be that the wisest course of action is to stay on a steady path forward instead of trying to force things.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/onsi as Why the Dolphins Shouldn't Be Making Deals .
