Dolphins Trading Parker to Patriots
As had become almost expected after their previous offseason moves, the Miami Dolphins are trading wide receiver DeVante Parker.
What could be considered a bit of a surprise is that they have agreed to send him to an AFC East opponent, the New England Patriots.
The specifics of the trade involve Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick going from the Dolphins to the Patriots in exchange for a 2023 third-round selection, as confirmed by a league source.
Parker became expendable after the Dolphins acquired wide receiver Tyreek Hill a week and a half ago after earlier signing Cedrick Wilson Jr. and Trent Sherfield as unrestricted free agents, in combination with Parker carrying a cap number upward of $8 million and not being a contributor on special teams.
How to Look at the Trade
Parker is scheduled to make $5.7 million in base salary each of the next two years, per overthecap.com, but the Dolphins will be on the hook for the $5.4 million remaining prorated portion of the signing bonus he got when he signed his latest contract in December 2019.
The terms of the trade make it difficult to look at this move as anything other than the Dolphins wanting to move on from Parker because they won't get any benefit from it in 2022 other than saving about $3.3 million of cap space.
The trade also left them with only four picks in the 2022 draft — one in the third round, one in the fourth, and two in the seventh.
They Dolphins, however, are now scheduled to have five picks in the first three rounds of the 2023 draft — two in the first, one in the second and two in the third.
From the other side, it looks like a great trade for New England, which gets some much-needed help at wide receiver at a relatively low cost — both in terms of compensation and salary.
And, make no mistake, Parker is a very good wide receiver.
Parker's Up-and-Down Dolphins Journey
Parker joined the Dolphins in 2015 as the 14th overall selection in the draft out of Louisville and had an eventful time in Miami that included some great performances but also a lot of injuries.
And that's what his time in Miami will be remembered for.
In seven seasons with the Dolphins, Parker played 93 games (out of a possible 113) and had 338 receptions for 4,727 yards and 24 touchdowns.
His best season by far came in 2019 when he led all AFC wide receivers in receiving yards (1,202 on 72 catches) and receiving touchdowns (9).
In 10 games last season, he had 40 catches for 515 yards and two touchdowns.
While never really a big-play receiver, Parker excelled at making contested catches down the sideline and could have offered a different option for the Dolphins offense to go along with the speedy Hill, Wilson and Jaylen Waddle.
Now traded, Parker will miss out on the chance to work under new wide receivers coach Wes Welker, who ironically also was traded from the Dolphins to the Patriots.
Dolphins fans likely look back in horror at how that trade played out — Welker in exchange for picks in the second and seventh rounds — because Welker became one of the greatest slot receivers in the NFL history after leaving Miami, though it should be noted he got the chance to catch passes from first Tom Brady and then Peyton Manning.
The likelihood of Parker experiencing that kind of success in New England is extremely low, but then again the Dolphins really didn't get very much in return.
GM Chris Grier spoke about Parker at the owners meetings this week.
“We like having good players, you know?" Grier said. "We feel really good about that receiver room. The expectation is he’ll be here but we always listen. I’ve always said here, and the guys that know me, we’ll always listen for all players on the roster.”
The unspoken message there was that Grier hadn't yet gotten an acceptable trade offer for Parker — or one he was ready to accept — but logic all along suggested Parker's days in Miami were done.
That the Dolphins couldn't get more for him has to be considered a bit disappointing.
