There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. On Tuesday, Jon-Eric Sullivan shed some light on that speculation, converting it to fact.
Last week, it was reported that the Dolphins were actively shopping Fitzpatrick to other NFL teams. It makes sense. Fitzpatrick eats a lot of cap space and isn't going to be around for a long rebuild. Getting him moved to a contender makes sense, but until Tuesday, no one knew if Miami was actually taking calls. They do now.
Speaking with the media in Indianapolis, Sullivan said that "All options are on the table," with Fitzpatrick. That includes trading him.
Miami Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan cleared the air on the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade talk
With nearly $19 million in cap space being taken by Fitzpatrick, it is no wonder that Sullivan and the Dolphins would like to move on. Chris Grier's move to bring him back to Miami last year was more about getting rid of Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith than it was about Fitzpatrick.
Miami still ate most of Ramsey's deal in the trade and took on a big chunk of Fitzpatrick's deal from the Steelers. Now it's Sullivan's job to try to unravel that ball of yarn.
Over the last weekend, Fitzpatrick's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spoke with Josh Mozer on his FOX Miami show and said that his client has not asked for a trade away from Miami, but given his age, 29, and Miami's rebuild, he would likely welcome the opportunity to move on.
It was widely anticipated that Fitzpatrick would be a problem in the locker room. That appeared to be the case last offseason when the safety wouldn't speak with the media during training camp. As it turned out, he became one of the quiet leaders in the locker room, especially among the much younger safeties.
Sullivan doesn't have to get a big return from a Fitzpatrick trade, and if he can move him, it may end up being for a future draft pick instead of one in 2026. The Dolphins GM wants more draft capital to rebuild his roster, but this year's draft class isn't considered very deep despite Miami's need to fill almost every position on the field.