Grading the trade: Miami Dolphins offload Minkah Fitzpatrick for a proverbial bag of balls
Miami went the untraditional route to move on from Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Minkah Fitzpatrick‘s days with the Miami Dolphins are over. Again.
And somehow, spectacularly, the star safety’s second run with the franchise was even shorter than the first. Minkah was, of course, a draft pick by the Dolphins back in 2018 and survived just two games into his second year before being traded to Pittsburgh. The Steelers shipped him back last summer and now, Fitzpatrick is headed north again. The New York Jets have agreed to terms on a deal with Miami to acquire Fitzpatrick for the cheapest of prices: Miami is going to procure a 2026 seventh-round draft choice in return. How did Miami do?
Grading the Miami Dolphins’ reported trade of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick
The value, on the surface, is pretty light. Minkah plays a “devalued” position as a safety, but has great positional versatility and high-end instincts at the position. Yes, he’s 29 years old and will turn 30 mid-season this year. But because he can play in the nickel, he would appear to still have a significant window to impact the game. And now he’ll do that within the AFC East as a member of the Jets for the foreseeable future.
I would say the wins for the Dolphins on this deal are as follows:
- Successfully finalize a trade upon the start of the league year for Fitzpatrick, netting nearly $6 million in 2026 cap space
- Adding a draft pick (regardless of compensation)
- Saving $15.6 million more in additional cash salary for 2026 to spend on more long-term pieces
The losses for the Fitzpatrick deal with New York?
- Trading a quality starter to a division rival
- The compensation back feels quite light for a player who had his best season in several years in 2025
- Creates a new hole on an already thin roster
Grading the trade
Putting a grade on this is tough, because we are prone to be focused on the quality of the player versus the price of the compensation. My sense is that Miami’s core focus right now is on cashing out on talent for cap flexibility and alleviating their cash budget for the 2026 season.
Miami, when adding up the savings from Tyreek Hill, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Bradley Chubb, James Daniels, Alec Ingold, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Jason Sanders, is set to save over $90 million in payroll this upcoming season. They’ll need that for their cap reset. Doubling down on that approach helps to see the vision at work. But Minkah staying in the AFC East for a 7th-round pick simply feels like too light of a haul for me to grade it favorably.
FINAL GRADE: D+
Miami Dolphins News
The Dolphins finally make official their intentions for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa
Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened. Or don’t, I don’t care.
