Ranking the Dolphins' March Trades Involving Veterans in the 2000s

There have been a few notable trades made around the NFL in the past week that will become official with the start of the new league year, and the expectation remains that it's more than possible that the Miami Dolphins will get involved in the action by moving safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

This certainly would be nothing new for the Dolphins, who have made their share of trades involving veteran players over the past 20 years.

Because the Dolphins are way more likely to trade away veterans than to acquire them at this time, as they're going through a rebuilding process, we'll focus on those moves that saw Miami relinquish a player.

The Dolphins have traded 13 veterans in the month of March since 2000, and the list includes big-name players like Ryan Tannehill, Jarvis Landry, Brandon Marshall, and Mike Wallace.

Here's a quick recap of those trades, which we ranked from first to worst.

RANKING THE MARCH TRADES INVOLVING DOLPHINS VETERANS SINCE 2000

2019 — QB Ryan Tannehill and a 6th-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for 4th- and 6th-round picks

This was addition by subtraction because the time had come for the Dolphins to move on from Tannehill after seven seasons (sound familiar?). The return wasn’t much, but this was about effecting change.

2023 — TE Hunter Long and a 3rd-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for CB Jalen Ramsey

Things didn’t work out in the final analysis with Ramsey, who was really good in his first (abbreviated) season in Miami and still was solid in 2024, though he never seemed totally happy, particularly when it came to his contract. But getting a player of his caliber for a journeyman tight end and a third-round pick is a trade that’s difficult to criticize.

2019 — DE Robert Quinn to the Los Angeles Rams for a 6th-round pick

This was part of the purge of 2019 and was about moving Quinn’s contract with little regard for the return.

2015 — LB Dannell Ellerbe and a 3rd-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for WR Kenny Stills

This has to be viewed as a good trade because Stills did some solid work for the Dolphins after Ellerbe had been a disappointment as a free agent signing from the Baltimore Ravens.

2002 — RB J.J. Johnson to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional 7th-round pick

This move was made four days after the Dolphins acquired Ricky Williams in a trade with New Orleans, and the Dolphins clearly had no more use for their top 1999 pick after a disappointing three seasons.

2012 — WR Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears for two 3rd-round picks

There are a couple of ways to look at this trade, starting with the idea that two third-round picks weren't a bad return for a productive but difficult player. But this trade came two years after the Dolphins gave up two second-round picks to get him from Denver.

2017 — T Branden Albert to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional 7th-round pick

Albert clearly was the end of his career when the Dolphins moved him to make room for 2016 first-round pick Laremy Tunsil at left tackle, and it turned out that Albert never played for the Jaguars, and Miami never received that late-round pick.

2021 — DE Shaq Lawson and a 6th-round pick to the Houston Texans for LB Benardrick McKinney and a 7th-round pick

This trade came only one year after the Dolphins signed Lawson as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills, and it became a nothing burger when he and McKinney failed to stick with their new team.

2009 — C Samson Satele and a 4th-round pick for picks in the 4th and 6th rounds

Satele became expendable after the Dolphins signed free agent Jake Grove because Tony Sparano wanted a more physical center, but essentially settling for a sixth-round pick was a very poor return for a player who was a second-round pick just two years earlier.

2004 — CB Jamar Fletcher and a 6th-round to the San Diego Chargers for WR David Boston

This swap of former first-round picks didn’t pan out because Boston couldn’t stay healthy, though it was a good return for Fletcher, who flopped as Miami’s first-round pick in 2001, when he was selected at a time when Drew Brees was on the board.

2007 — WR Wes Welker to the New England Patriots for 2nd- and 7th-round picks

This often is called one of the worst trades in franchise history because of what Welker went on to accomplish in his career, but let’s not forget that Welker put up his impressive numbers catching passes from Tom Brady and then Peyton Manning.

The other factor to consider was that Welker was a restricted free agent that offseason, and the Patriots reportedly were planning on putting a poison pill in his contract to make it difficult (or at least painful) for Miami to match. And, to be fair, getting those two picks for a player who had 96 catches in his first two NFL seasons wasn’t bad at all.

2015 — WR Mike Wallace and a 7th-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for a 5th-round pick

This was a really poor return for a talent like Wallace, but he wanted out, and the Dolphins wanted him gone, so this ends up being the result.

2018 — WR Jarvis Landry to the Cleveland Browns for 4th- and 7th-round picks

Landry wanted way more money than the Dolphins were willing to give him, but they still ended up missing his physical presence in the passing game.