We all knew the winds of change were blowing in south Florida. It doesn't relieve the shock to the system that is seeing the team that had seemingly found its stride take a wrecking ball to the entire operation in just two short years. Jon-Eric Sullivan wasted no time putting his hard hat on and getting to demolition on free agency Monday morning.
First, it was the long-awaited release of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Now, the Dolphins will be dealing with $99 (million) problems over the next two years, but Tagovailoa won't be one. Then came the trade of Miami's third-highest cap hit player, Minkah Fitzpatrick. We would wish him well, but he's been sent to the Jets. You know the deal.
For all the trade chatter surrounding two blue-chip offensive weapons the Dolphins have (De'Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle), a much more sensible trade candidate has been flying under the radar. That would be the Dolphins center Aaron Brewer.
The Dolphins could look to trade their second-best player from 2025 (according to PFF)
On the surface, it isn't very sensible to trade a player like Aaron Brewer. The six-foot-one, 295-pound people-mover was elite in 2025. The folks over at Pro Football Focus gave him an 87.4 grade, which was good for second out of 40 qualifiers. Despite being snubbed for the popularity contest that is the Pro Bowl, Brewer's exploits earned him 2nd team All-Pro honors and a finalist finish for the inaugural Protector of the Year award, given to the league's top offensive lineman.
The case to trade him is simple. With one of the crown jewels of free agency in Tyler Linderbaum set to receive a contract worth upwards of $20 million per year, Brewer — who is in the final year of his deal with no guaranteed money remaining — might be looking for something similar. There is also a sneakier reason for the Dolphins to give considerable thought to the idea.
With so many teams, including the Raiders, Giants, Titans, Browns, and Commanders reportedly in on the Linderbaum sweepstakes, one of the losers could be willing to bid big for a player who's still in his prime at only 28 years old. Each of those teams — save for the Browns — has their young franchise QBs in place (assuming the Raiders take Fernando Mendoza first overall) and would be looking to protect them. With Jon-Eric Sullivan's professed obsession with draft picks, the possibility cannot be ruled out, especially if one of those teams dangles a couple of draft picks in trade talks.
On March 3, the New England Patriots traded their starting center, Garrett Bradbury, for a fifth-round pick from the Bears. Bradbury is 30 years old and his 60.1 PFF grade ranked 30th. The market seems to be favorable for the Dolphins to get a second-day pick in the draft at the minimum, likely with a day three pick as well.
The Dolphins would also save a paltry $1.557 million in cap space by executing a trade. The savings are negligible, but as a team that desperately needs enough room to field a roster next season, the Dolphins could use any help they can get.