Two of the NFL’s biggest stars of the last decade could be on the move this offseason.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, announced Monday morning that he’d like to be traded. Later that day, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, announced he was told he will be traded.
Naturally, most NFL fans are wondering if either of these two stars could be wearing their favorite team’s uniform soon.
The Miami Dolphins are not strangers to taking big swings. In recent years, they acquired stars Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, and Bradley Chubb in trades. So could Dolphins general manager Chris Grier do it again and go after Garrett or Kupp?
A Myles Garrett trade doesn’t make much sense
At an extreme, birds-eye view, it’s easy to justify an effort to add Garrett.
The Dolphins finished 27th in the NFL in sacks last season and didn’t force many turnovers. Garrett has recorded double-digit sack totals in seven straight years with 60 sacks in the last four. He’s also forced 20 fumbles and plenty of errant passes.
But if you zoom in a little closer at a potential deal for Garrett, the logic falls apart.
For one, the Dolphins pass rush already stands to take a big step forward with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips returning from injury, and both Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara entering year two of their NFL careers.
And two, landing Garrett would cost a boatload that the Dolphins can’t afford.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry says a pair of first-round picks wouldn’t be enough for him to send Garrett elsewhere. Even if Cleveland comes off that lofty price, it won’t cost anything less than a first-round pick and a lot of change to acquire the six-time Pro Bowler.
Then there’s the contract. No team that gives up that much to get Garrett in a trade will be OK with allowing the lineman to hit free agency after only two seasons. One of the NFL’s richest deals to keep the 29-year old will be a must.
Should the Dolphins, a team with a dearth of cap space and plenty of needs to address, sell the farm to land a player at a position that is already in decent shape? Don’t count on it.
A Cooper Kupp deal isn’t wild, but still a long shot
The Dolphins offense has seen big numbers from the wide receiver position, including back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons from Tyreek Hill and more than 4,000 yards in four years from Jaylen Waddle.
It might be past time for the Dolphins to be done riding the Hill drama roller coaster, though. There’s a discipline issue in Miami and it’ll be hard for the team to stomach the receiver quitting on the squad in Week 18 and showing little remorse for his actions.
But parting with Hill would leave the Dolphins with Waddle, Malik Washington, and not much else at the position.
Ditching Hill and adding Kupp would not only provide a reliable replacement at the position, but a veteran with a demonstrated history of leadership and accountability. And unlike Garrett, it won’t take a king’s ransom to land Kupp — just a mid-round draft pick should do the trick.
Here’s the downside, though.
The team that acquires Kupp will inherit his $12.5 million and $14.85 million base salaries in the next two seasons. That’s not cheap for a player who has missed at least five games in each of the last three seasons due to injuries, and averaged 61.4 and 59.2 yards per game in the last two years — far from the 114.5-yard average that earned him MVP votes in 2021.
Maybe his stellar history and outstanding character make it a worthwhile risk for the Dolphins. But teams with more cap space to afford a roll of the dice are probably the more logical landing spots.
