How McDaniel Addressed 'Tricky' Situation with Trade 'Rumors'

Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips are among the Miami Dolphins players whose names have come up in trade speculation

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) misses a catch during the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips both were asked this week about their name being mentioned in trade speculation, and that's the kind of things that happens when you're a high-profile player and your Miami Dolphins team is having a bad season.

That doesn't mean there's anything imminent regarding either player or that anything even will happen at any point before the NFL Trade Deadline on Tuesday, November 4.

But head coach Mike McDaniel wanted to set the record straight Friday when he was asked about what, if anything, he tells those players about speculation.

"Yeah, it's tricky," he said. "Just for the record, all rumors about Miami Dolphins players are baseless currently and that's unfortunate. Personally not just this year for this team, person, kind of this time of year kind of bothers me, for the sake of the individual player that's having to answer questions about his long-term journey or potential where he's playing questions on rumors or thoughts of other people. We're focused on the Browns and I try not to give legs to any of those rumors. But if I was an individual player, probably wouldn't be the greatest thing to hear."

The reality, though, it's the nature of the business, though a couple of important points need to be made.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RUMORS AND SPECULATION

The whole thing this week started with a report that the New York Giants, in the market for a wide receiver, would have Waddle among their potential targets.

Already, hypothetical have popped up on the good old Internet about a hypothetical trade that would have Waddle getting moved for second- and fifth-round picks.

Now, that's not quite the same thing as trade discussions taking place between the Giants and Dolphins, and the same goes with the report suggesting the Seattle Seahawks would be interested in making a move for running back De'Von Achane, perhaps in a straight-up deal for cornerback Tariq Woolen.

And then there are those stories suggesting the Dolphins would be willing to move Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, which again makes sense but isn't the same as the team being actively engaged in trade discussions.

The bottom line here is that first and foremost the timing doesn't make sense. The Dolphins still have three games left before the trade deadline — against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, against the Atlanta Falcons on October 26, and against the Baltimore Ravens in the Thursday night game October 30.

The idea that the Dolphins would make a trade right now for future assets defies the logic that says that McDaniel and head coach Chris Grier are going to do anything and everything they can to win games, and moving veterans is not exactly conductive to that goal.

THE PLAYER REACTION

What should be pretty obvious through all of this is that McDaniel's comment isn't going to stop the speculation or rumors, also understanding he wouldn't be the first coach or team official to say no trade was coming before a trade happened.

Dolphins players should be prepared to be asked those kind of questions again before November 4.

Phillilps and Waddle handled the speculation the right way this week.

"Look, I can't do anything about that," Phillips said. "All I can do is focus on improving, getting better every day and putting good stuff on film. Whether that's the Dolphins keeping me, whether it's another team getting me, that's like completely out of my control so it's not even something I spend my time worrying about. What I can do is try to do the best that I can for this team. I obviously love this team and this organization. I've spent a lot of time and dedicated a lot of effort and emotions to this team and organization, so ideally I would love to just be able to do my job and help this organization out, and whatever plays out, plays out.”

As for Waddle, he said this: “I’m just focused on the game honestly. Focused on the Browns and just trying to get a win.”