Trade Talk Time and Where the Dolphins Fit In

Several big-name veterans around the league either have demanded a trade or been told they could seek one

New England Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (92) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in 2024. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS — While the scouting combine in Indianapolis continues this week, the biggest news around the NFL centers around veterans and trades.

It's gone so far that maybe the most often used phrase these days is team X has given player Z permission to seek a trade instead of any of the common draft-time clichés.

But where do the Miami Dolphins fit in all of this?

The fun started with Cleveland Browns all-world pass rusher Myles Garrett requesting a trade, but in the past couple of weeks and even days, the list of players either given permission to seek a trade, flat-out requested a trade the team says it will honor or been involved in trade conversations has grown to include Matthew Stafford, Jaire Alexander, Deebo Samuel, Harold Landry, Cooper Kupp, Davon Godchaux and Jonah Jackson.

Man, that's quite the list there.

It's also a list that doesn't include any Dolphins players — and, yes, we're thinking about Tyreek Hill right here.

Since his infamous "I'm out" comments following the season finale against the New York Jets, Hill has walked back his comments, apologized, said he wants to continue playing in Miami, and GM Chris Grier said in his end-of-season press conference there never was a trade request.

Oh, and then there was the report from NFL Network's Tom Pelissero during the playoffs that the Dolphins weren't planning on trading Hill.

So, until something changes, nobody should expect Hill to be added to the list, no matter how many national media outlets suggest hypothetical Hill trades or encourage the Dolphins to move on from their volatile playmaker.

After handing most of their front-line players new contracts last spring or summer, there already shouldn't be Dolphins veterans looking to move on unhappy with their financial situation.

Actually, the two players who would make the most sense to move from a Dolphins standpoint are Bradley Chubb and Terron Armstead because of their tricky cap situation, but their market value might not be all that good at this time given age (for Armstead) and injury (both) considerations.

POSSIBLE DOLPHINS FITS FOR PLAYERS ON THE MARKET

There's zero doubt that the Dolphins would benefit from adding any of the eight players listed above, but realistically we can eliminate almost all of them for one reason or another.

With Stafford, it's the size of the contract he wants and the presence of Tua Tagovailoa on the roster.

With Garrett, the biggest obstacle there probably is the fact the Browns keep insisting they're not trading him.

With Kupp and Samuel, the one issue above all others is the Dolphins already have allocated a lot of resources (meaning money) at the position with Hill and Jaylen Waddle and adding a third wide receiver witha big salary is hard to justify given needs at other positions.

With Landry, this might be simply an issue of the Dolphins not having a major need for an edge defender after taking Chop Robinson in the first round last year and with the anticipation that both Chubb and Jaelan Phillips could be back at close to peak efficiency in 2025.

With Godchaux, there's a question of scheme fit because Godchaux is a two-gap run stuffer who would bring little to the pass rush.

That brings us to Jonah Jackson, the veteran guard who just finished his first season with the L.A. Rams after coming over as a free agent from the Detroit Lions. It was a season to forget for Jackson, who sustained a shoulder injury in training camp, re-injured it early in the season, came back from IR late in the season and then was benched.

Jackson, though, had four solid seasons with the Lions before that, earning a Pro Bowl invitation in 2021.

Jackson is scheduled to make $9 million in base salary in 2025 and it becomes fully guaranteed March. 14.

While the financial compensation isn't egregious, trading for him would require the Dolphins giving up an asset instead of signing a free agent and Jackson also isn't necessarily the perfect scheme fit.

He still might qualify as the most logical veteran in the trade conversations should the Dolphins decide to get involved in doing business that way this offseason.