Dolphins’ lack of action at Tuesday’s trade deadline won’t make or break the future — but their logic doesn’t quite add up on one possible move

Surely they won’t regret this in March, right?

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer
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So much for a fire sale. So much for an epic mandate from Miami Dolphins team owner Stephen Ross to ship out anyone with a big salary. After trading Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday, many thought the Miami Dolphins were just getting started. As it turns out, they were finishing up.

Miami didn’t trade another player before Tuesday’s deadline. Teams showed interest in star receiver Jaylen Waddle (g00d). The other veteran pass rushers, Matthew Judon and Bradley Chubb, stayed put. The fan fantasy trade scenarios for LB Jordyn Brooks proved misplaced (good). And veteran safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will now indeed be destined for a second full season in Miami.

According to reports, the Dolphins had interest. They simply chose no action.

Dolphins ‘stuck to their value’ on offers for WR Jaylen Waddle and EDGE Bradley Chubb

“I got the sense the Miami Dolphins (did not want to tear it down). They didn’t want it to be a fire sale. They didn’t want the prices to be fire sale prices. So, Jaelan Phillips goes, and everyone’s like ‘Oh, cool, we can get Bradley Chubb for cheap, we can get Jaylen Waddle for less than a (first round pick). (Teams) could not get Bradley Chubb for cheap, and could not get Jaylen Waddle for less than a one. They held firm on their prices, knowing by the way, that Chubb potentially will either re-do his deal or leave in the offseason, and if they wanted to trade Waddle for future picks, they could do it in March, probably for the same price.”

— Ian Rapoport on Dolphins’ Tuesday trade deadline strategy

Dolphins’ major potential cap casualties this offseason

  • EDGE defender Bradley Chubb
  • SAF Minkah Fitzpatrick
  • WR Tyreek Hill
  • OT Austin Jackson
  • FB Alec Ingold
  • K Jason Sanders

On one hand, I get it. You don’t want an interim general manager who has held the title for five days to make monumental decisions with potential franchise cornerstones like Waddle. I felt the idea of trading Waddle, especially if this team is serious about transitioning at quarterback, was a monumentally dumb idea.

The Dolphins brought Tua Tagovailoa into the NFL to throw to DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Isaiah Ford, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Myles Gaskin out of the backfield. Having an established feature player, particularly one who can separate and run routes like Waddle, will be helpful for the development of a young quarterback.

“A Jaylen Waddle is a Jaylen Waddle. But a first-round pick could be ANYTHING, Lois! It could even be a Jaylen Waddle!”

— Peter Griffin

But that same school of thought with Chubb? I don’t follow. I like Chubb. He’s a great leader. He is, when healthy, a good player. However, he’s owed more than $20 million in salary next season, will be 30 years old next summer, and has several million dollars in performance incentives at stake amid a lost season.

You could have traded Chubb for anything and marked it as an economic win to offload the incentive money he’s threatening to claim the rest of this season, which is pacing around $4 million and could push a few million higher.

You were principled on a price there? Really? For what, so that a new executive could come in and decide whether to Post-June 1 cut him, pre-June 1 cut him, or rework his contract (again) to keep him at a reduced rate as a 30-year-old pass rusher with multiple ACL tears on his resume?

That one doesn’t pass the sniff test for me. Not one bit. There shouldn’t have been a principled price tag here. Miami should have shopped until they dropped and taken the best offer they could secure.

But alas, it did not. It won’t make or break Miami’s future. But it does go down, to me, as a disappointing missed opportunity to get something for a player in Chubb, who I’d now bet you’ll get nothing for in March.

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