Maybe the Miami Dolphins want to trade Kenyan Drake

The Miami Dolphins have been linked to speculation about the future of Kenyan Drake and maybe there may be some fire behind that smoke.

When the 2018 season was winding down, so was the production and carries for Kenyan Drake. Many believed it was Adam Gase being Adam Gase but now one has to wonder if the early off-season speculation about Drake’s future may not be entirely just smoke.

Running backs coach Eric Studesville spoke with the media last week and as I re-read the transcripts I found it interesting that when it came to Drake, Studesville wasn’t very pointed in his responses about the running back. Especially when compared to the other runners he spoke about.

"(I want to ask you about RB Kenyan Drake, first of all. I know there was some frustration that maybe he didn’t carry the ball as much as you wanted although he got a lot of the touches in the past. Did he ever express frustration to you?) – “No. Kenyan has been a part of this. I think he did a great job and was trying to do everything he could to help us win games and he knows that happens a lot of different ways.” – Miami Dolphins transcripts"

This was the only time that Studesville actually used Drake’s name in a reply as it related to the question. This could all be nothing more than, well, more speculation or even bad observation as some of you will point out in the comments but something doesn’t sit well.

When asked about getting him more involved with Chad O’Shea’s offense, Studesville tiptoed the subject.

"“I don’t know what that’s going to be going forward. We haven’t done all of that yet. The hard part is how you build this and who we get here and how all of the pieces go together. It’s the same thing as we’ve always done, we’re going to try to put guys in a positon to help us win football games. How many that is? Enough to win the game. That’s the end goal.”"

Fair enough. Everything in Miami is new right now but Studesville knows his players and this should have been an easier question to answer. Instead, he danced a bit around the question and used words like, “who we get here” and “put guys in a position to help us win”. Again, it’s not Earth shattering avoidance but we will continue.

Studesville was asked if he believed Drake played well last season.

"“I do. But like all of us, we could all get better. There’s areas for everybody to improve on and work on; but we’ll get to all that. Right now, the biggest thing that we’re trying to do is we’re trying to figure out who everybody is right now and get the pieces in and we’ll figure out what to do with them.”"

Again the topic of how everyone fits comes up and Studesville does not mention Drake specifically but instead lumps him with all of the backs. This is interesting because he didn’t do that when asked about Kalen Ballage or even Senorice Perry.

Studesville was asked if they just accept the fact that Drake’s running style, something he says he will not change, is something they just accept. Given the big play ability.

"“In everything we’re going to do, we’re going to coach all those guys to do what’s best within the scheme of the play and what we’re trying to do and then hopefully those plays are part of utilizing their skillset.”"

None of this indicates that Drake’s future with the Dolphins is in jeopardy and in fact maybe they are being soft on the subject because they really have no idea how the pieces fit together. It simply comes off a bit odd that the starting running back is spoken about in a more outward and positive manner.