As the NFL’s trade deadline came and went at 4 p.m. Tuesday, it turned out the deal involving outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips on Monday morning was the only move for the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins went quietly on Tuesday, without another trade orchestrated by interim general manager Champ Kelly.
At 2-7, the Dolphins were expected to make at least one other move, with a number of teams possibly interested in Miami’s veteran pieces who could benefit by a flip to a contender while the Dolphins stack draft capital past the midway point of a highly disappointing season.
Miami reportedly fielded interest on wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and edge defender Bradley Chubb, ESPN said shortly after the deadline, but opted to hold on to each.
The Dolphins, who fired former GM Chris Grier Friday, made their lone trade deadline move under Kelly on Monday morning, dealing Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick.
Some Dolphins players who could’ve presumably been dealt included Waddle, Chubb, fellow edge rusher Matthew Judon and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Chubb, after missing the 2024 season recovering from a significant knee injury at the end of 2023, has led the Dolphins in sacks in 2025, with four. He has been healthy, starting all nine games for Miami this season, with 25 tackles, five for loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Fitzpatrick has appeared disgruntled since the trade within the final month before training camp which brought him back to the Dolphins, the team that drafted him in 2018, from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers (5-3), which got cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith from Miami in the deal, are atop the AFC North as the Dolphins are stuck at two wins and out of the playoff race.
Fitzpatrick has 50 tackles with five pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery with Miami.
The Dolphins also got a fifth-round pick and sent away a seventh-rounder in the trade with the Steelers.
Judon, a veteran four-time Pro Bowler who is 33, has barely made an impact with the Dolphins since signing during the preseason. He has been limited in snaps coming off the bench, held without a sack and registering just 12 tackles.
Waddle, a 2021 first-round draft pick who was given a contract extension in 2024, only became a possibility after the franchise moved on from Grier. He was a name thrown around recently, but only if the Dolphins were to be blown away by a significant trade offer, one probably requiring a first-round pick as a starting point. Most teams figured to be unwilling to bite at that price.
The Phillips trade is expected to create more playing time for second-year pass rusher Chop Robinson, who had six sacks as a rookie but has just one in nine games playing behind Chubb and Phillips this season. Judon could also see more snaps with Phillips gone.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the AFC East, the 1-7 New York Jets headlined much of Tuesday’s trade deadline action.
They parted ways with All-Pro talents in cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Gardner went to the Indianapolis Colts for first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus wide receiver AD Mitchell. Williams was shipped to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2027 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
Miami’s division rival now has five first-rounders in the next two drafts and two second-round selections this coming April.
While the Dolphins have remained ahead of the Jets on the field in recent years, Tuesday’s dealings were a reminder of how New York still had a much deeper asset pool that could better position themselves in their rebuild.
After the deadline, the Dolphins announced they signed cornerback Clarence Lewis to the practice squad. Lewis went undrafted to the Tennessee Titans earlier this year coming out of Syracuse, where he finished his college career after spending his first four seasons with Notre Dame.