Dolphins in Depth: Miami Dolphins pull off a blockbuster trade

Dolphins in Depth: Miami Dolphins pull off a blockbuster trade

the day most of us have been waiting for has finally arrived You see all these draft guides These these things right here Uh the Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers have made everybody have to throw theirs away From this standpoint the Miami Dolphins pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Steeler trading Jaylen Ramsay and John Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a swap of a seventh and a fifth round pick Oh and it just so happens to include Pro Bowl safety MA Fitzpatrick who is making his return to the Miami Dolphins a team that he demanded a trade from in his second season Now Mink is coming back You’re watching Dolphins inepth I am Omar Kelly Miami Herald columnist Joining me is Isaiah Smalls Miami Herald Dolphins beat writer Isaiah make this trade make sense for me I
mean it’s rather easy right You had Jaylen Ramsey a guy who kind of fallen out of favor seemingly fallen out of favor with McDaniel right You had John Smith who wanted a new contract Dolphins obviously weren’t willing to budge with that So you send them away Cers obviously were the team that seemed to be most interested in Janu uh specifically their offensive coordinator Arthur Smith who spent some time with Janu I believe um during Atlanta Definitely in Atlanta but specifically during Yeah during his most productive uh season as a Titan Um he was there as well And so um I I think the the more surprising thing that the thing that I don’t think anyone saw coming was uh Minka Fats Minka Fitzpatrick excuse me returning to Miami That was the one that you know people started to you know kind of tip their hat a little bit to Greer in that regard Um but it’s a it’s it’s a very you know one of those days in in in Dolphins history that’s just like it’s mind-blowing because
this is a big day in Dolphin
It’s a big day because just the way that it trickled in and obviously you know this is probably the biggest trade that I’ve been a part of since I’ve started working the beat And so
might be the biggest trade that I’ve ever been a part of in my career 17 years
because it involves three Pro Bowlers
Three Pro Bowlers right And so it’s to me it’s it’s a it’ll be very interesting I think what I’m most looking forward to is seeing how uh defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver uses Ma Fitzpatrick because as I wrote in a previous story you know one of the things that uh sets Weaver apart is that he loves these guys that have positional versatility right Um
is it really him or is it the scheme Because
the scheme it’s the scheme The scheme it’s him It’s his scheme So what do you
No it’s not his scheme I mean he he he brought the scheme
He brought it here He borrow thing That’s what I’m saying
He borrowing it
That’s fine That’s fine It’s he’s the one that’s putting it together right now Um and so I I you know one of the things I look back at you know how we talked about Jaylen Ramsey right One of the things that he loved um about Jaylen Ramsey just in general about great players is that he likes to have his best players near the ball right And whether that’s blitzing the quarterback whether that’s that’s something that he that’s something that he said It’s you like that
Okay that’s an excellent point However
make Fitzpatrick’s beef with the Miami Dolphins is they wanted him as the safety near the ball He wanted to be the safety in the back end at free safety Exactly And so that’s what I’m saying That’s why it’s going to be very interesting to see how Weaver is going to utilize him right Because obviously Weaver Flores two very different personalities right And so there might be a way that Weaver can kind of sell it a little bit better than Flores did it Who knows Who knows But um
I don’t know if Nick at his age which is uh he is 28 right now He’s going to be 29 in November
Yes
Um I don’t know at his age if he is going to want to be as close to the ball He’s I think the value for Minka from my standpoint was Jaylen Ramsay’s gone Now there’s no leadership in in the secondary room
It’s the blind leading the blind No offense to Ashton Davis and if he Melan Woo and Kater Coh No offense but none of y’all ain’t done nothing in the league Like and now you have a guy who’s coming here perennial I believe six time Pro Bowler
Yeah
20 interceptions 10 force fumbles and fumble recoveries That’s 30 impact plays Um way more impactful than Javon Holland What I do find interesting about this and this is a story I’ll tell you story time
Okay
I I I I I love this story because it really personifies what’s going what’s been going on with the Dolphins over the years and what the issues are and the issues that Steve Ross has worked very hard to avoid This is a story I have confirmed triple confirmed verified spoken to all parties Everything is confirmed
Okay 2018 first round of the draft The Dolphins have the 11th pick Dolphins have had a how do I say um the Jones for M Fitzpatrick the entire draft season Chris Greer loves him Thinks he’s going to be a perennial Pro Bowl player Thinks he’s going to be one of the best players at his position for a decade Has to have it Okay Now Mike Tanibomb who was technically running the organization he wanted something else He wanted to do something else Adam Gase actually wanted a quarterback not Lamar Jackson Any quarterback not Lamar Jackson and wanted the Dolphins to get in position They wanted that year he wanted two quarterbacks because he knew he couldn’t get Baker Mayfield who he loved Um Mr Josh Allen And then there’s another one I think it’s Sam Darno It’s it’s it’s like a little murky whether or not it’s Sam Darnold or it was somebody else I can’t remember Um but it definitely wasn’t Lamar Jackson Now they had a trade offer on the table A trade offer that Adam Gase and Mike Tannibal are fighting so much about that they actually have to leave the draft room because it’s smelling like dysfunction in there and they’re on the clock They have to leave the draft room to figure out what they’re going to do because the trade is so enticing But the trade takes them back into the 20s and owner Steve Ross says “Well if we’re going to be back here why don’t we just get Lamar Jackson?” And everybody basically ignores the owner because everybody knows Adam Gase does not want to coach Lamar Jackson He does not believe in Lamar Jackson Does not want to coach him does and and does not want a quarterback that Adam Gates wants to play Xbox with his quarterback and have his quarterback do exactly what he says Anyway that’s my opinion
Okay So but the owner says we could get Lamar Jackson Everybody like man shut up Steve You You don’t know nothing They They really didn’t say shut up Steve But that was the tone
Yeah They’re fighting so much that eventually Chris Greer who is the peacekeeper who is not a fighter says “Listen I am in charge of the draft This is the one thing that I am the HNIC for All of y’all are gonna do what I want to do and I want to take Ma Fitzpatrick.” Wow Conversation over
Wow That’s a good That’s a good little piece of lore So you’re telling me the Dolphins could have almost landed Lamar Jackson
They got jumped for Buffalo They got jumped by Buffalo for Josh Allen
Yeah
Which probably would have been the pick if Buffalo had not jumped
Buffalo hadn’t jumped him Interesting Interesting
And the own Yes And the owner did indeed want to go down for Lamar Jackson
Wow And everybody was just like “Gone Steve Y’all don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yeah
And this is Dolphins history Then a year later Ma and Brian Flores Ma does not like tanking
Does not like the culture of the Dolphins
Yeah
Does not really have that many friends in the locker room
Yeah Is not playing at the position that he likes
Yeah Because Brian Flores wanted Bobby McCain to play free safety
Yes
And Ma tells his agent “Get me out of here.” after two games And on a Sunday after a game
Mink gets dealt for 18th pick which turns out to be Austin Jackson Interesting
And now six years later Chris Gear finally gets back his guy
Hey that’s a good story That’s a very good story That’s a very good story I think I look we we’ll have to see how it it plays out I saw also that Tua and and Minka are are friends or at least close They used to be close I don’t know if they’re still close
Yeah
there’s there’s a lot of people that Tua used to be close with and but you know how it is You you know
I’m a homie
That’s that’s how friendship works especially as you get older as an adults You know what I’m saying Like it’s oh yeah that’s that was my guy then And you know we grow up you know stuff changes But it’s it I I think I I I like this move because it doesn’t I remember us talking about if we traded if the Dolphins excuse me traded away Jonah uh I keep John U Smith that it to me I think it was to both of us it’s a sign of of tanking So the question I want to ask you do you still feel that way post post trade If this trade had been for a Jaylen Ramsay and John Smith for a fourth and a fifth round pick in whatever cuz they did get a fifth they did get a fifth for a seventh which is basically nothing
Um not the fifth The fifth is something The seventh is nothing
Yeah of course If it was for a fourth round pick in 2016 2026 and a fifth round pick in 2027 I would have said “Let the tank begin.” I would have said “What other pieces are we selling How much can we get for Zack Cer Let’s let’s figure out if a team wants Devon Han.” Like that’s that would be my line of thinking Yeah
But you got rid of Jaylen Ramsay And I’m not I I shouldn’t say got rid of because it’s disrespectful You move Jaylen Ramsey who is still an elite player Pittsburgh showed you he’s still an elite player by actually giving him a raise
Yeah
I don’t think they’re done yet because
Jaylen is always shaking down people which is part of the Dolphins issue trauma Jaylen Ramsay and I love him
I don’t have a problem with him
I know who he is
But Jaylen Ramsay is a bully and he spent the last two years bullying the Dolphins and they got tired of it
That’s true
And you know Mike put his foot down and Jaylen is now gone and Jaylen is now in an organization and a culture that can’t handle Jaylen Ramsay because you not about to bully Mike uh Mike Tomlin Heck no So so
and they’re also an organization that is going clearly all in
Yes They’re they’re very clearly pushing all the the chips to the middle trying to see it They’re all in on the Aaron Rogers experience you know
Oh yeah Yeah Yeah And the way listen I’m blame them The way Aaron Rogers sliced and diced the Dolphins and the two times he played Miami Shoo
That’s what I said I I have a few friends who are Steelers fans and I said as long as you get week 18 Aaron Rogers you should
not just week 18 when he played the first time
No no that’s real That’s real
He carved them up That’s real He did
carve Jaylen Ramsay up
He did carve Jaylen Ramsey up Yes
So So I would have thought it was tank but now that you have acquired a Pro Bowl player now if you package and ship Mah Fitzpatrick then I’ll be like “Ah wait wait wait wait wait wait wait like what what is it Who was it Uh Drew Holiday to the to the to the Trailblazers when he never played or what was it Uh Melo to the Trailblazers when he never Oh Melo to the Hawks How there’s an infamous Melo to the Hawks jersey You don’t remember this where Melo got traded to the Hawks and immediately rerouted somewhere else So there
I mean and that that could happen uh until we hear from Minka Fitzpatrick Yeah
I don’t know But understand this is business season
Mhm Minka is under contract for two more years
Minka has let me let me bring it up for you for for for the people Um so because they they generally Minka is under contract with no guaranteed money
Mhm And when a player has no guaranteed money in his mind he does not have a contract especially a player of his caliber He’s under contract for 15,500 15 million and500,000 this season which is a relatively good price for a safety and in 2026 he’s under contract for 17.6 All of those are good money deals for a safety But you know what they do not include Isaiah Guaranteed money
Guaranteed money Minka right now tears the ACL training in the off season The Dolphins can cut him release him not owe him a dollar Sheesh And when you’re a veteran player especially a high caliber veteran player a Provo veteran player
yeah that ain’t going to work So more than likely and I don’t know when or how or what the timetable is more than likely you’re going to look to see that 15 million and that 17 million turn into guaranteed money get a nice little Steve Ross stimulus pack in terms of a signing bonus and then the cap numbers go down Then Minka has his guaranteed money then the Dolphins can make the contract He’s probably still going to want to be paid like a top five safety you know the and this is easier to digest than especially since he’s young and still kind of training up It was a Pro Bowl season last year
as opposed to being shaken down by Jaylen Ramsey every year
and Minka does not have the Jaylen Ramsey personality Now for Janu let’s just say the Dolphins had a respectable nice admirablesized contract on the table but Pittsburgh had 12 million on say it wasn’t 12 million
Not 12 million Isaiah are you going to take 9 million from the Herald when Pittsburgh Steelers has 12 million on the table
Uh respectfully no Especially if it means reuniting with an OC who you know
believes in me Yeah believes in you And not to say you know McDaniel and them didn’t because you know as much as he thought it personal it’s business
Yeah It’s not personal It’s just business For sure For sure This is this and this is what Dolphin fans have to understand We are officially in business season This is business time Football Nobody cares about it
This is where is my money That’s fair
That’s the season Now when we open up training camp
Yeah We got four weeks where we could pretend it’s about football but really that’s still where is my money
That’s real
Then when we get to the regular season we can have kickoff September 9th or whatever
Yeah that’s what it’s about Football but let you have not paid me my money Like we gonna act like Javon Holland all season
That’s real
Where it is what it is
Yeah that’s real So that’s the situation where Zack Cer’s in right now You need Zack Cer to be a good steward of your locker room Uh Zach’s like “Where is my money
man?”
Um so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out but the Dolphins they do get rid of Well that’s not fair They traded away two Pro Bowlers
4-1 and a fifth round pick Uh congratulations to the Miami Dolphins Congratulations to Chris Greer for actually getting this his safety back
Yeah No that’s real That’s I think that you cannot I I think the biggest thing that that we talked about when we were talking about the Jaylen Ramsey trade specifically is that we’re not getting back player like the Dolphins were not getting back a player That that was a constant theme and it it was unfortunate Maybe you know when Jire was still signed to the Green Bay maybe you can but it was still a long shot to get a player I think the ability that he had that Chris had you kind of got to tip your hat I mean of course you lose Janu but I and I think that’s I that’s that to me I think is now the the next hurdle that they have to um kind of climb over what they’re going to do at at tight end because we you look at that you look at that room I I look I I did something There’s not a player in that room who has all three of these things that caught at least 15 balls
had more than 100 yards receiving Okay and a touchdown Those are three
doesn’t have 100 yard receiving
He had
and a touchdown
And a touchdown He had a 100 yard receiving He did
I don’t think he scored a touchdown this
not score a touchdown And he caught 12 balls
Hold on What about Mr Frell Brown The slowest tight end in
Farrell Brown had like 60 yards He did not score a touchdown And he might have had a handful of catches Like definitely not 15
Okay May I say to you in regards to your tight end crisis here that you’re you’re having John Embry is probably your best coach on your team
Position coach
Yeah
I really can’t think of anybody who’s a better position coach than John Embry who’s got two or three Hall of Famers on his resume
Yeah Um I think he’s got five Pro Bowlers on his resume including Janu I think he’d be all right Now one of the players that I will tell you do not sleep on
and I I’m guilty of this and you will hear it in this interview because he is a practice he is a OTAA and training camp killer He is carving you up when he’s win wearing pajamas Uh now the question is can Tanner Connor translate the pajama play to when the pads come on Had the opportunity to work with the first team because of Janu’s absence How much do you think that that’s helped you in terms of your development It
helped me a lot I mean this was a similar situation to last year when John had an injury and I worked with the first team And for me it’s it’s great I get more chemistry with Tua just with the snap count and the speed of the ones versus the twos and the threes So um it helps me a lot I mean I’m super confident this year regardless of where I’m at but this is my fourth year I’ve been in the system a long time I understand it So um being able to run with the ones it feels right at home for me
So do you feel like you’ve got a complete mastery of the playbook
I have not complete mastery I can’t I probably can’t play running back for us but in terms of you know knowing the route concepts and knowing the depths and the landmarks of both tight end receiver and running back I’m I’m getting pretty close which I can pride myself on Um I go home and I study and I write down the entire script every day and uh just try to get the details out because at the end of the day you never know what’s going to happen and with my background I’ve played receiver before and so if there was ever a time we needed somebody at least I know the playbook I can go out there and execute it So
now what did you do to or get the orange jersey
I had a pretty active day Friday You guys weren’t here Um I’ve been pretty consistent the whole camp but Friday I had a had a big day or was that Thursday Thursday Friday whatever day
Thursday You you don’t worry
Yeah I mean the previous one we did but I had a pretty active day that day just you know what’s active
Uh just you know being active in the pass game catching a lot Um just you know being in the right sp right spot at the right time and and catching a lot of balls So
you’ve always been impressive during OTAAS and training camp What is it going to take for this to transition to the regular season
Yeah cuz uh according to some people I disappear during training camp right
No you disappear during the regular season Pads come on
Yeah Yeah The pads come on I don’t know what that would be you know maybe it’s the physicality I think I’m actually more physical of a person when the pads do come on But I think there’s something where you get to training camp and you know sometimes the situation changes within your own room that you know reps go different guys Sometimes you don’t get the looks Sometimes the defense is dominating the offense and you might be open or you’re not going to get the ball I mean today there was I didn’t get a single one I got one one target today So versus last practice I had like five So you can’t always control when you get the ball and so sometimes it looks like you’re not super active if you’re not watching the film And so um it’s been really unfortunate You know I’d love to have those big days like some guys have in training camp and just hasn’t been there yet but um just going to keep grinding and and do my thing So
have you put on weight muscle strength or what is This is the heaviest I’ve been 240 So come come a long way Um still feel really fast still feel I feel a lot stronger in the run game I feel more stout which is really nice But I’m just trying to find that happy medium where I can still I want to be an effective tight end I don’t want to just be a pass catching tight end And so um just doing things like that just putting on weight in the offseason um it’s it’s been good I feel the difference So I feel a little bit heavier but I still feel powerful and strong
Gotcha I will say this Isaiah Um John Embry as we addressed earlier does an excellent job in terms of coaching his unit coaching his room
Of course
keep in mind Tana Connor started before Janu Smith did Tanner Connor actually started the Seattle game when Janu was struggling to learn the playbook
Okay How’d he do
He didn’t do good But then Skyler was also his quarterback
Okay
So you know that was his I think it was his first NFL start
I think so too
But it was earned not given of course
Now is he John Smith athletically No he’s not Is he John Smith in body in terms of body of work collectively No he’s not Is he John Smith as a blocker Maybe he is Maybe he’s better But I could tell you from a pass catching route running understanding of the offense because Tanner Connor understands the offense better than Ju Smith does That’s why he played Now last year he suffered an injury and then another season wasted But keep in mind this organization is invested This is the third season they’re investing in an undrafted player And the same could be said for Julian Hill entered his No actually it’s a fourth season they’ve they’re investing in the undrafted player This is this is Julian Hill’s third season And as you know because you you’re there in the meetings and you talk to the coaches they love Julian Hill
They do
Now whether that means he’s going to blossom and turn the corner I have absolutely no idea But Tom Pelisera put out a report that the Dolphins are shopping for actively shopping for a tight end right now Um when it’s a Peliserero report I know where it’s coming from And that’s an announcement that hey tight ends agents with tight ends who potentially are unhappy their situation holla at us
Um Michael Mayer a former I believe second round draft pick with the Oakland Raiders I mean damn Uh he has been on the trade block for a while The Dolphins have explored it looked at it
The question is will they find the motivation to pull the trigger on a trade like that And you actually mentioned a former uh tight end of from University of Florida who the Dolphins actually considered drafting over uh Jaylen Wadd
Yeah Uh I I mean Kyle Pittz is he’s on the last year of his deal I to me like when I saw the report from Paliser I thought of two names like I didn’t even think of much man I thought of I thought Kyle Pittz and I thought of Dallas Two guys that are on the last year of their deals um that I’m sure potentially want some big money Um but I think the the the thing with pitch though is the production hasn’t necessarily been there Right So there there is some way for obviously the skill levels He was what top five pick right So there
skill level before the injury
Yeah Yeah Skill level before the injury was certainly there Now if the the Dolphins seem to have a pinchant for taking in guys that they believe um haven’t been solely maximized at previous stops in their career specifically um if you want to talk about guys who have been injured too and whether you like it or not that that is that is for me as someone that is uh coming into the organization uh like this they have a pinchant for taking guys that have injured hands It’s cheaper Exactly is is is is he cheap That’s that’s the question
I I think that’s the question that every that you know will be heavily debated on I I I cuz what is it They they didn’t want to give Janu 12 million I definitely think you can get him way below that I think you can get him way below nine a year
but we’ll see You don’t think so I think he’s making nine a year right now
No because he’s on his fifth year option Um the problem with that situation and scenario is this If I want him I could just wait a year and get him in free agency for nothing Same thing with Dallas Goer
That’s true
Who I love And he’s up there in years This is clearly an organization who is going towards a youth movement Younger cheaper truthfully stupider That’s just what they’re doing and what they’re looking for
Yeah
We want guys who we can we can help you make a name for yourself and you can have some loyalty to us
That’s what they’re looking for And that’s that’s that’s just not goer That’s just that’s not
um you know I I it’s more mayor but the question and issue there is he’s got some onfield and off-field issues that you got to really look into and dive deep into which is why because he’s a talented player Obviously he’s been displaced by uh their pro bowler but he’s a talented young player The question is can is Miami the right situation or environment for him and I don’t have an answer to that Um there there are some some other options um that are on the table Um I won’t mention them now because uh that would tip off everybody else Um but obviously now we get rid of Jaylen Ramsay and you acquire Minka Fitzpatrick How do you think that this impacts the secondary How impact Ash Davis How does it impact Iffy Melofanu How does this impact Elijah Campbell I think well from Weaver’s perspective he’s definitely a big fan of of those three guys right They you know they all actively got some um run with a team that looked good I will say that I’m not going to be specific about that but they all they individually got got run with a with a you know a group that looked good
They they rotated They rotated They rotated the units that matter
And so uh you know obviously Minka comes in now as the big dog in that room right So one of those two safeties Ashton Davis or Ify who you know both came to the Dolphins with the intent of trying to maximize their their careers right With the intent of trying to get come in as a starter Well
they both came here to be starters
Exactly Well that opportunity kind of got slashed a little bit Kind of got cut in half because now they’re
Well one of them still has an opportunity to be a starter
That’s what I’m saying The the opport the opportunity got cut in half There’s now one one of them
and One thing I will say about Iffy Melofanu is and I I learned this from Dan Campbell is he’s effective and can play the slot He’s very good at the slot He looks like a praying mantis cuz he’s got long arms long legs
Yeah
So it’s possible and I’m just saying possibility that um Anthony Weaver could use him in a star position in a star role and that’s the guy that moves around You have Mink as a free safety because I promise you Mink is gonna play free safety Uh the last time he left it was because you wouldn’t let him play free safety I promise you he gonna be playing safety That’s
um Ashton Davis is probably best suited for strong safety Mhm
Uh iffy probably could play your star and serve as your nickel and that would open up the door for you to push or move Kater Kohu to the boundary Now we all are more comfortable with Kater at nickel but does that mean that he can’t play on the boundary If you’re Kater Koh and you’re his agent David Caner you probably want him on the boundary You know why boundary makes more money More money
So now if you struggle on the boundary then it could be roll you can roll snake eyes
So that’s
that’s something that we’ll be watching in camp Um especially if if he can play the nickel Definitely
Um or he’s certainly going to be the backup nickel Kada goes on the boundary Maybe he goes on the nickel in certain packages It gives Anthony Weaver a little bit more to work with But he’s still got to figure out what’s on the other side in terms of Kendall Sherfield Storm Doug Cam Smith Isaiah Johnson Ethan Bonner You still got to figure that out But that’s a lot of May Um you know you know you’ve been hands and spades That’s that’s a that’s that’s that’s a lot of that’s a lot of that’s a lot of queens and you know low seven spade It’s it’s a lot of possibles
Lot of possib You shouldn’t you shouldn’t bet You shouldn’t don’t over bid now Do not overid And and who’s to say the Dolphins are done Maybe they get a deal done for tight end Maybe they get a deal done for a quarterback We shall see Um but obviously this is the first major offseason move that the Dolphins have made and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out Welcome back to South Florida Ma and his mother who I’m sure will be watching Um on that note this has been Dolphins in Depth a p podcast by the Miami Herald I am Omar Kelly This is Isaiah Smalls and we are out

Three weeks before the start of training camp the Miami Dolphins pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending two Pro Bowlers to the Steelers to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a fifth-round pick. Now that Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith are headed to Pittsburgh the Dolphins must find replacements. We also breakdown how Fitzpatrick potentially fits in Anthony Weaver’s defense.

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