The Miami Dolphins have shown over the course of the Chris Grier/Brian Flores era that they’re not afraid to take on a rehabilitation project from time to time for players who are troubled off the field. One such player, Mark Walton, lasted approximately half a season in 2019 before more off the field issues prompted the Dolphins to cut him midseason.
The Dolphins’ latest project didn’t even make it a week.
The Dolphins struck a verbal agreement with the Tennessee Titans at the beginning of the month to bring troubled offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson into the picture, a 2020 1st-round selection who very easily could have been a Dolphin through the draft process had the Titans not snagged him at the end of the 1st-round. The trade, which was made via a swap of 7th-round selections in 2021 (Miami’s) and 2022 (Tennessee’s), allowed Miami to take a low risk swing of the bat on a physically talented player who had ample issues off the field during his first career season in the NFL. The Dolphins and Titans formally processed the trade this week at the start of the league calendar year.
It may end up being his only season in the NFL — as reports have emerged that the Dolphins cut Wilson after a slew of missed commitments over the course of the last two weeks. The Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley had the initial report:
“Just in the short time since the Dolphins acquired him for late-round draft compensation, Wilson showed up late for his physical, late for his team orientation and skipped two optional workouts that he had committed to attend, the source said.” – Adam Beasley, Miami Herald
For the Dolphins, his departure will offer no ill effects other than having to wait a year for the return on the 7th-round selection they shipped to Tennessee as a part of acquiring Wilson’s potential. According to Beasley’s report, Wilson’s conduct in Tennessee throughout 2020 voided all guaranteed money in his rookie contract, meaning Miami will have no dead cap space as a result of the cut.
In all, this maneuver turned into a zero-risk roll of the dice for Miami — but it is clear that Wilson has other priorities than being a football player. The Dolphins seemed to be the only team willing to take the risk of absorbing his rookie deal to try to live up to his potential and it may be a very long time before we see Wilson back on the gridiron again, if ever.