Breaking: Former Dolphins Branden Albert retires; trade impact
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins were set to let Branden Albert become a free agent prior to the start of the league new year in March. Then they decided against it and now he is retiring.
As free agency was about to begin the Dolphins were ready to release Branden Albert their Pro-Bowl left tackle. The release would save the Dolphins nearly $10 million in cap space. It was announced by the media that Albert would be released but the Dolphins never followed through with it.
Within hours rumors began to circulate that the Dolphins were trading Albert to Jacksonville for tight-end Julius Thomas. A day passed and that rumor turned to two separate trades. A 7th round 2016 draft selection was sent to Jacksonville for Thomas and then later a conditional 2017 7th round draft pick was sent to Miami for Albert.
The trade was made official when the start of free agency and the league new year began in early March. Problems began to arise however when Albert didn’t speak with the team in any capacity after the trade. He did not show up for off-season conditioning and workout programs. Later it was reported that he had finally reached out to his new head coach and assured him he would be at camp.
Today, Branden Albert announced his retirement from the NFL.
Jaguars OL Branden Albert announced his retirement from the National Football League.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 31, 2017
The trade for Albert will no longer net the Dolphins a 7th round selection as Albert will not be part of the Jaguars squad this year. His retirement ends a strange off-season for Albert. Despite not publicly complaining about the trade it’s clear that he was not close to accepting the outcome of the deal. While we can only speculate now, it’s possible that had Albert picked his own team as a free agent he would likely still be playing.
Over his career Albert has battled back issues and last year he missed a couple of games because of those issues. He has had a very good career in the NFL and the fact he can walk away on his terms is something few get to do.
Albert ends his nine-year NFL career at the age of 32. He last made the Pro-Bowl in 2015.