Even if the Cowboys get serious about trading Micah Parsons, the Dolphins must resist repeating the definition of insanity originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
Micah Parsons is the kind of talent that each and every NFL franchise should call to inquire about. Let’s start this conversation there — the rightfully unhappy Dallas Cowboys star is one of the best and brightest young talents in all of football. Parsons, despite his torrid start to an NFL career, has formally requested a trade this afternoon amid the sluggish negotiations that have kept Parsons without a new contract.
Parsons provided an eye-opening statement that disclosed some of his frustration and utilized some very strong language in regard to his current status with the Cowboys. I would suspect that the Miami Dolphins call — they normally touch base on everyone to gauge the price.
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But make no mistake about it, there’s zero way the Dolphins can justify a trade for Parsons, even if the Cowboys do end up conceding to his newly public trade request. There’s no shortage of versions of the 2025 Miami Dolphins in the multi-verse that would bend over backwards to field a competitive offer.
Just not the version that exists in reality.
A Parsons trade would undo everything this offseason was fundamentally about
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Miami’s offseason has been rooted in resetting the roster amid what has been a dearth of draft picks contributed to the roster. It’s a cruel twist for the Dolphins, who once upon a time sat on an all-time treasure trove of draft picks after the trade of OT Laremy Tunsil to Houston in 2019 and the team’s trade out of the 3rd-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft via Houston’s pick to pull three more first-round draft choices from the San Francisco 49ers.
That surplus draft capital dried up quickly after the Dolphins executed blockbuster trades for wide receiver Tyreek Hill, edge rusher Bradley Chubb, and had first & third-round draft choices stripped amid an investigation into competitive integrity and illegal tampering of both coach Sean Payton and quarterback Tom Brady.
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How bad did it get? The Dolphins made just eight draft choices in the 2022 and 2023 NFL Drafts combined — with only one draft pick in the top-75 of either class (cornerback Cam Smith, 51st overall in 2023).
The Dolphins have been getting healthy amounts of draft volume over the last two NFL Drafts and appear to have plenty of talent to be excited about from the 2024 and 2025 classes. Names like Chop Robinson, Patrick Paul, Kenneth Grant, Jonah Savaiinaea, Malik Washington, Jaylen Wright, and Jordan Phillips all serve as young, promising anchors of the next chapter of the organization. Paired with young talents like Jaylen Waddle, Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer, James Daniels, and De’Von Achane and a long-term commitment to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, you could make the argument Miami’s long-term nucleus is established.
But the Dolphins aren’t done offloading their big contracts. Terron Armstead retired and Jalen Ramsey was traded post-June 1st — which accounts for more than $31 million in dead cap charges. The team is reaching the end of it’s journey with wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who is owed a crazy amount of non-guaranteed cash in 2026, and has no long-term attractive options in their cornerback room.
This is not the “one move away” destination for Micah Parsons. It’s just not.
Now, had the Dolphins not eagerly burned through their surplus draft capital? Maybe we’d have a different story. Miami sent 2022 first, second, and fourth-round picks along with 2023 fourth and sixth-round picks to Kansas City for Tyreek Hill. The team’s 2023 first-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pick went to Denver for Chubb. A 2023 third-round pick was sent to Los Angeles for Jalen Ramsey, who wore out his welcome in South Florida after just two seasons and leaves the Dolphins carrying an embarrassingly high dead cap charge in 2026.
All that plus another 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick docked for tampering. It’s literally double-digit picks! You can argue that Hill’s acquisition was worth the price of admission after consecutive 1,700 yard seasons. Ramsey’s move, in a vacuum, was easily digestible.
But all of it? Together? It’s a mountain that requires much more than just two years of promising draft classes to climb out of. That’s before you get to the lingering question around defensive tackle Zach Sieler and his ongoing pursuit of a contract extension. Part of the unraveling of twine the Dolphins have been mired in is all of these big trades not only required draft assets going out, they required new contracts coming in atop the market. The opportunity cost there for names like guard Robert Hunt, pass rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, and others who left in free agency was hefty.
So what? Is Miami going to trade more draft assets and give another top of market contract to another player who has never played a snap in South Florida? It’s the definition of insanity.
And, as a result, the Dolphins should be considered a strong candidate to place the phone call to inquire about Parsons and his cost. And then they should consider remembering their objectives this offseason, quickly dismiss the idea, and stay the course. Or else they’ll find themselves backed into a corner with too limited of a resource pool once again before you know it.
Related: Miami Dolphins hit with an injury on Tuesday at an area where they can’t afford losses
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.