Report: Dolphins Discussed Trading For Patriots G Joe Thuney

Brian Flores has discussed the idea of adding yet another former Patriot to his roster.

Ever since the New England Patriots franchise tagged Joe Thuney ahead of free agency there have been discussions about them potentially trading the All-Pro guard to free up cap space and receive compensation in the process. 

New England currently has $1.10 million in available cap space, per Boston Sports Journal's Miguel Benzan, which isn't even enough to sign their draft picks, let alone having extra spending money after that. So trading Thuney - even if their haven't been reports about them wanting to - would be a smart, financial move for a team that is trying to get younger and cheaper on both sides of the football. 

As it turns out, there's at least one team in the NFL that has had discussions internally about trading for the Patriots' starting left guard. The Miami Herald's Armando Salguero shared that the Dolphins have talked about trading for Thuney:

So I was “spitballin',” as I said in the mock draft, when I mentioned a trade with New England for Joe Thuney.

And then a source, who obviously read the mock, texted that it was given consideration by the Dolphins. No, not after they read it in the newspaper, which would be so amusing.

The idea of signing Thuney is something the Dolphins actually wanted to do before free agency. And when Thuney was franchised by the Patriots in March, the possibility of trading for him was also discussed.

Miami - much like the Giants and Lions - like to pick from the Patriots' pool of players. It makes sense, as the Dolphins have former New England defensive coordinator Brian Flores as their head coach. New England's division rivals are in the process of beefing up their offensive line for whichever quarterback they put behind center in 2020, and adding Thuney would be a tremendous upgrade for that unit, which ranked last in the NFL last season, per Football Outsiders. 

With New England still needing to free up cap space before they sign their draft picks, if there was a time for Thuney to be traded, it would be before the draft begins, that way New England can plan accordingly when the draft is underway. 

A restructure or two of players contracts could free up enough cap space to make things works. But if the Patriots want to dump one of the heaviest 2020 salaries on their football team, Thuney should be on his way out the door.