Examining the Impact of the Nelson Trade on the Dolphins

Looking at the trade of perennial Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks through a Miami Dolphins lens

Indianapolis Colts guard Quenton Nelson (56) and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) celebrate a touchdown in the game against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium in the 2025 season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The NFL trade deadline is now two weeks away, but there was a significant trade Tuesday.

The immediate impact for the Miami Dolphins of the Indianapolis Colts beginning their expected fire sale by sending perennial Pro Bowl Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks is that their Week 10 game at Lucas Oil Stadium might become a lot more winnable than it once was.

There are potentially other implications beyond that game on November 15, though.

The reported return for Nelson, who will become a free agent after the season and no doubt will get a massive free agent deal, was a third-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft along with a fifth-round selection in 2028.

The trade compensation is important to note as a comparison point for all the teams looking or willing to deal players before the trade deadline November 10.

While they're coming off a victory, the Dolphins remain — or at least should remain — focused on the big picture and treat their personnel with the future in mind, meaning they should listen to offers for any players and maybe seek deals for those they don't see as part of the team beyond this season.

Tackle Austin Jackson has long been assumed on the way out because he's a pretty expensive player in the final year of his contract, he's not having a great year and the Dolphins have their future right tackle on the roster with Kadyn Proctor if they decide to switch him there instead of keeping him at left guard where he's showing great promise as a rookie.

While the Nelson trade compensation doesn't really apply when it comes to Jackson — as it doesn't to a whole lot of offensive linemen around the NFL — maybe it becomes a better barometer for someone like defensive tackle Zach Sieler.

The question, of course, is whether the Dolphins even want to trade Sieler, who's not only a good player in the middle of the defensive line but a leader on a team with an abundance of young players.

While Sieler isn't an All-Pro like Nelson, he is under contract through the next three years after this one, though with no guaranteed salary, giving an acquiring team flexiblity in terms of how to proceed forward with him.

If Nelson fetched a third and a fifth in a trade, what could the Dolphins get for Sieler? The obvious answer is whatever a team — say, the New York Giants — needing help at defensive tackle is willing to give up,

Realistically, it's always felt as though maybe the best the Dolphins could do was get a third-round pick and that likely would entail them giving up a late-round pick in addition to Sieler.

Jackson, because his contract expires, he has a long injury history and has had issues in pass protection, probably wouldn't fetch more than a late-round pick.

THE COLTS GAME

That game against the Colts will come five days after the trade deadline, and it's entirely possible that Nelson won't be the only star player gone from Indy by then.

After GM Chris Ballard was fired following the Colts' loss against the Tennessee Titans, it looks like the team is headed for a full rebuild and players like Jonathan Taylor and DeForrest Buckner also could be moved.

One thing for sure, that Colts team isn't going to look the same as the one the Dolphins saw in the 2025 opener when they left Indianapolis with a 33-8 loss.