NFL trade rumors swirl but Dolphins may not be that active

The NFL’s trade deadline comes at close of business Tuesday. Rumors continue to swirl around the league as the deadline approaches but the Miami Dolphins will likely stay put.

For the Dolphins a trade is not out of the question. It’s simply unlikely. Miami has salary cap issues right now and bringing a player in via trade would put more money on the books that they simply don’t have. Throughout Sunday there was a lot of talk about two specific players. Eric Ebron and Calvin Johnson. Yes that Calvin Johnson.

Johnson has been retired for two seasons now and his rights are owned by the Detroit Lions. According to Omar Kelly via Twitter, the Dolphins would have interest in acquiring the rights to the big receiver. They would need a guarantee that C.J. would come back to the NFL and stick around longer than a season. Then they would need to clear a lot of cap space.

Miami isn’t the only team that was talked about in regards to Johnson. The Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly interested in his services and rights as well. The Lions seem content to be dealers in this years market as they are also rumored to be searching for an Ebron partner.

Eric Ebron is a top quality tight-end. On paper. He has all the tools and physicality that one wants in a tight-end but he has not come close to his first round draft pick status and for the most part he has been a relative bust in Detroit. Would a change of scenery do him good?

The Dolphins again have been mentioned as well but where would he fit exactly? Releasing Julius Thomas would cost the Dolphins around $3 million in cap space, Ebron would take up around the same amount, and the Dolphins like MarQueis Gray as a 3rd tight-end.

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What Miami needs the most is an offensive lineman but teams typically don’t trade starting offensive line mid-season. Miami would have a hard time finding someone who could step in and elevate the play of the line. Miami needs more than one as well so one player may not fix the problem.

Of course there again is the topic of salary and salary cap space. So could the Dolphins move some cap off the books by trading a player or two? First you have to look at the value of the player.

Jarvis Landry’s name may ramp up tomorrow or later today as the deadline approaches but his salary is South of $1 million so little cap relief. To be honest, Miami doesn’t really have another player that is tradeable. Either due to salary cap, contract structure, or performance, the Dolphins really have no tradeable asset aside from maybe DeVante Parker who can’t get healthy to stay on the field.

By the time the whistle blows at the end of the day Tuesday, it would be a shocking surprise if the Dolphins were players at all but it won’t be shocking to hear their name attached to a lot of would be available players.