The biggest trades in Miami Dolphins history
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are waiting for the start of free agency so they can welcome Julius Thomas to the team. Officially. Miami sent a 7th round draft pick to the Jaguars in advance of the league new year.
Thomas may not be the only trade that Miami pulls off this off-season. In fact it’s highly unlikely that Mike Tannenbaum can sit quietly between now and the end of April’s draft. He likes to make moves and some of them could be bold. While fans wait to see if there will be more wheeling and dealing from Tannenbaum and company we can look back at some of the biggest trades in Dolphins history.
It’s common knowledge that the Dolphins sent a draft pick to the Baltimore Colts for Don Shula. That trade turned out pretty good for the Dolphins. In 1969 the Dolphins traded for Nick Buoniconti and in his first season as the Dolphins head coach, Shula sent the 3rd overall pick to Cleveland for receiver Paul Warfield.
Without question all three would make this list but they would also take up three spots that really don’t need to be taken. Why? Because the three Hall of Famers stand alone on top of the all-time trade category. In fact they are pretty much in a category all their own.
While some trades have turned out well, see the three above, others have not been so kind. Case in point? The curse of Joe Theismann.
In 1971 the Dolphins used their 4th round pick on quarterback Joe Theismann despite the fact they had future Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese on the roster. Theismann didn’t want to sign with the Dolphins and negotiations on a contract never came close so Theismann left for the Canadian Football League.
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The Dolphins would hold his NFL rights until 1974 when they traded him to the Redskins for a first round pick in 1976. Theismann would leave the CFL and join the Redskins. Miami would use the draft pick on Larry Gordon. Gordon would start for the Dolphins as a rookie and played with the team from 1976 to 1982 the year Miami returned to the Super Bowl.
Gordon would die of heart disease while jogging in Arizona.
In January of 1983 following the 1982 season, the Dolphins and Redskins would meet in the Super Bowl. As the third quarter was winding down Kim Bokamper would take a tipped Joe Theismann pass out of the air for would almost assuredly lead to a touchdown and give the Dolphins a two score lead. Theismann, the former 4th round pick of the Dolphins was able to strip the ball out of the Bokamper’s hands. The Redskins would keep their rushing game plan and John Riggins would take the Super Bowl MVP. And Joe Theismann would get the final grin after refusing to budge on his rookie demands.