The Miami Dolphins‘ hunt for the most competitive roster possible is about to pick up once again. 53-man cuts loom in less than two weeks. And those transactions will flood the market with candidates for Miami to add.

But trade deals can (and usually do) get done first. Why cut a player that you can get something for? The latest trade speculation comes out of Green Bay, where Packers writer Easton Butler posted that the Miami Dolphins were among the teams calling to inquire about cornerback Carrington Valentine for a possible trade. Who is Valentine as a player? Could something like this really happen? I called upon A to Z Sports Green Bay’s Wendell Ferreira to give the most up to date scouting report on Valentine based on his career with the Packers. Here’s what he had to say.

Summer trade speculation around the Green Bay Packers appears to implicate the Miami Dolphins

“Carrington Valentine is a talented cover corner, despite his significant struggles as a tackler, which partially caused him to allow five touchdowns when targeted last season under Jeff Hafley. He played around 70% of the defensive snaps. Entering the final year of his rookie deal as a former seventh-round pick, Valentine will make $3.674 million because he earned the Proven Performance Escalator.

Despite his deficiencies, Valentine still offers a solid level of cornerback play for a team that desperately needs it in Green Bay. He’s certainly a better cover corner and less expensive than Keisean Nixon, so I have a hard time thinking the Packers would actually move Valentine unless it’s a real trade compensation.

At this point, the Packers would likely be more willing to trade Nixon, who’s set to make $5 million and has created some headlines recently because of his apparent discomfort with training camp competition. The Packers look happy with second-round rookie Brandon Cisse and also signed Benjamin St-Juste in free agency, but the roster isn’t at a point where moving on from starting-caliber cornerbacks makes sense.”

Let’s assume that Ferreira’s read on the situation is right. The Dolphins would still make a logical suitor even if the Packers’ intent shifts to moving Nixon instead of Valentine. Familiarity between Jon-Eric Sullivan, Jeff Hafley, and the Packers’ secondary is an obvious plus to any hypothetical trade. But the biggest challenge for any deal for Miami to actually landing a deal is something that Ferreira mentions: real trade compensation.

The Dolphins have plenty of team needs but the team has communicated their desire to build through the draft. Yes, Miami has an extra 5th-round draft choice in their back pocket from last summer’s trade of Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey. But they’re not yet a team that has the kind of surplus draft capital that could allow for liberally moving picks for players.

Speculation will continue to run rampant in the next few weeks. Veteran signings are happening. Injuries are hitting every roster across the league. And yes, deals are getting done. I’m not sure if landing a Packers cornerback is realistic or not. But I’d expect this won’t be the last speculation we get.

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