Miami Dolphins beat the Minnesota Vikings in these trades

The Miami Dolphins have had a couple of decent trades with the Vikings.

While the Miami Dolphins may have missed on guys like Mike Wallace and Daunte Culpepper, they did a little better in these trades with the Vikings.

In 1983 the Miami Dolphins drafted Michigan wide-receiver Anthony Carter in the 12th round but Carter opted to play in the USFL instead after a stellar career as a Wolverine. Carter would play for the Michigan franchise of the USFL but in 1985 after the league began to fold, Carter signed with the Dolphins who immediately traded him to the Vikings.

Miami received a linebacker and a 2nd round draft pick in 1986 for Carter. That 2nd round pick then be traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as part of the Hugh Green trade. Green would spend seven seasons with Miami but never came close to the expectations or reach the Pro Bowl.

Carter on the other hand would spend 11 years in the NFL with 9 of those coming with the Vikings. He would make three Pro Bowls and lead the Vikings in receptions five of his first six seasons. He would finish his Vikings career with 52 touchdowns.

For the Dolphins, Carter wasn’t as needed as he was in 1983. The Dolphins were very pleased with the combination of Mark Duper and Mark Clayton so while the trade wasn’t incredibly good for Miami it worked out well enough as Carter didn’t have a place.

The deal with the Vikings in 2004 probably shouldn’t have happened if we are being honest. Rick Speilman who would later school the Dolphins on how to make trades, was in his first year as the Dolphins G.M. taking over Dave Wannstedt who was stripped of the control after the 2003 season.

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Speilman’s first draft would include a trade with the Vikings that sent a 4th round pick to the Vikings to move up from the 20th overall pick to the 19th overall pick. At the time, it was clearly pointed out by the experts that Miami didn’t need to jump up one spot. The guy they wanted was not on the Vikings radar and the Vikings were not receiving calls from other teams.

Regardless, Speilman moved up and drafted University of Miami right tackle Vernon Carey. Carey was never great but he is still one of the better offensive linemen Miami has had since 2004. Carey would spend his entire NFL career with the Dolphins, a span of eight years. He would start 107 of 121 possible starts with 12 of those non-starts coming his rookie season.