Evaluating More Dolphins Trade Proposals

Another day, another round of trade hypotheticals or suggestions involving the Miami Dolphins.

After previous discussions involving Russell Wilson, Trey Lance, maybe even Tyreek Hill, this time it was ESPN's turn, more precisely staff writer Bill Barnwell who came up with 12 trade proposals he said would benefit both teams.

And his 12 suggestions included two deals for the Miami Dolphins.

First, he had the Dolphins trading a conditional fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for quarterback Bryce Young.

Then he had the Dolphins trade running back Jeff Wilson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers to get a sixth-round pick in 2025 for a seventh-round selection.

THE IDEA OF YOUNG WITH THE DOLPHINS

This isn't the first time the Dolphins have been mentioned as a team that potentially could want to trade for Young since the 2023 first overall pick was benched by the Panthers early in his second season.

The thinking is that Carolina pretty much already has given up on him as a franchise quarterback, and this is an opportunity for a team like the Dolphins to make a low-risk, high-reward move.

And there's certainly some merit to that, though this move certainly shouldn't be considered by the Dolphins in anything other than a long-term lense.

Part of Barnwell's rationale for making the trade was that it would provide an upgrade over Tyler Huntley and Skylar Thompson at backup quarterback right away and perhaps the long-term solution should Tua Tagovailoa leave the game early.

But there was little that we saw from Young this season to suggest he'd have much more success running the offseason than Thompson or Huntley, so we'll reiterate this move only would make sense from a long-term lense.

CAN YOU HAVE TOO MANY RUNNING BACKS?

That trade of Wilson looks like the Dolphins doing the 49ers a favor more than anything because the return is awfully small.

And it's not like Wilson's $2.4 million cap number is egregious.

De'Von Achane is coming back from a concussion and Raheem Mostert missed three games with a chest injury, so running back depth is important for the Dolphins.

Wilson is a solid NFL running back and having him as a fourth back on the depth chart — he's also behind rookie Jaylen Wright — is a major luxury that we'd argue the Dolphins shouldn't squander for the puny return of swapping a seventh-round pick for a sixth-round choice.

The peace of mind of having Wilson ready to step in if injuries is more valuable than that.