The Miami Dolphins have been one of the most active teams during the first week of the new league year, re-signing a few guys, signing free agents from elsewhere and making a trade.

Late last week, ESPN’s Seth Walder graded some of the biggest moves across the league, and two of Miami’s transactions made the cut. The first was the Dolphins signing quarterback Malik Willis, which Walder gave an A.

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“Let’s get the negatives out of the way,” Walder wrote. “Miami is betting on a tiny sample — only three starts as a Packer. Those starts came with an elite offensive designer in Matt LaFleur. Willis didn’t even throw that much in those starts, and his first two seasons in Tennessee didn’t go well. Despite all that, I find Willis to be an incredibly compelling option.

His numbers were outrageous in Green Bay — an 86.3 QBR, 9.2 yards per dropback and a plus-7% completion percentage over expected, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Those stats would all rank first over the past two seasons among QBR qualifiers if Willis kept up that hot pace in a bigger sample.”

The second move that Walder broke down was actually a trade, as the Dolphins sent safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Walder gave the Dolphins a C+ and gave the Jets a B-.

“A rebuilding AFC East team dealt one of its veteran players away as it tries to save money while setting up for its next contending run, perhaps in 2027 or beyond. That part makes sense,” Walder wrote. “The surprise? The veteran is going to another AFC East team that also doesn’t have much hope of contending next season. Fitzpatrick is heading to the Jets in a deal involving minor draft compensation and a new contract for the safety….

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“For the Dolphins, it makes sense to trade Fitzpatrick, but I’m dinging them for not dealing him sooner. Given his contract, I think at the deadline they could have earned more draft compensation than what they got now, and they functionally gained nothing from holding on to him.”

Miami’s clearly far away from winning anything significant, but these moves could be the building blocks for a solid future under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley

More Dolphins: Dolphins 2026 free agency tracker: Latest news, rumors and signings

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins: ESPN grades Malik Willis signing, Minkah Fitzpatrick trade