Miami Dolphins Robert Quinn traded to Cowboys for 2020 pick

The Miami Dolphins continue their purge of aging, pricey veterans by shipping defensive end Robert Quinn to the Dallas Cowboys.

Everybody knew Quinn was being traded and today it’s official.  Robert Quinn is no longer a Miami Dolphin.  Also expected is the team involved in the trade; the Dallas Cowboys.

From the Cowboys perspective, this is a good trade.  After all, they have one defensive end, Demarcus Lawrence, who may or may not sign his franchise tender.  Their other defensive end, Randy Gregory, is suspended indefinitely due to repeated failed drug tests.  They needed pass rushing help and Quinn, who reportedly agreed to a one-year $8M deal,  is a steady veteran that allows Dallas some flexibility in next month’s draft.

The Dolphins end of the deal?  On the bright side, they got a draft choice for a player that clearly wasn’t in the team’s plans for 2019 and didn’t have to pay any of the above referenced $8M.  The downside is they paid Quinn’s $1.1M roster bonus a couple of weeks ago and only received a 2020 sixth round draft pick in return.  Most NFL executives consider a pick in next year’s draft to be worth one round less than a current pick so it can be argued this is equaled to a 7th round pick.

Reviewing this trade as a referendum on the previous regime GM Mike Tannenbaum and HC Adam Gase, this trade just underlines the poor player evaluations that has played this franchise for the past two decades.  Last year, Quinn cost Miami $10M+ and a 4th round pick and, in the span of 54 weeks, was flipped for a 6th round pick to be used 13 months from now.  Not exactly maximizing your assets, is it?

However, viewing this trade through the prism of the future, this trade is a success.  The Dolphins cut $11.8M off their cap and now have 10 picks, not including compensatory, in the 2020 NFL draft.  If new GM Chris Grier is able to use them wisely, Miami is going to be a player in next year’s draft and/or set themselves up with a ton of young/inexpensive players.

Look forward to your thoughts on the Quinn trade.  Do you see this trade as “half empty”, “We only got a 6th round pick?, or “half full” , “We have more draft ammunition and we are saving cap dollars!”?