The Miami Dolphins made a surprising deadline deal during the 2019 season, acquiring defensive back Aqib Talib and a 2020 5th-round pick from the Los Angeles Rams for a “future pick”. This deal wasn’t made for Talib, whose contract expires this offseason, to actually play for the Dolphins. No, instead, Miami used their boatload of cap space to “eat” Talib’s contract and effectively “buy” themselves another 2020 NFL Draft selection.
The move was a fairly savvy one — a trade much more frequently seen in the likes of the NBA versus the NFL. The most famous NFL version of a “bought” draft pick? When the Cleveland Browns traded a 4th-round pick for QB Brock Osweiler, a 2nd-round pick and a 6th round pick and took more than $10M in cap space off the Houston Texans’ plate.
Could Miami call upon that formula for another added pick — and still address a need on the roster this offseason? If they wanted to, the odds are pretty strong Miami could do so by getting the Los Angeles Rams back on the phone.
The Rams are reportedly going to explore the potential of trading RB Todd Gurley this offseason — entering the first year of a four year contract extension that has put the Rams in quite the bind with their salary cap space.
Gurley will be owed $22M over the course of the next two seasons, money the Rams don’t exactly have as they look to address their offensive line and extend recently acquired cornerback Jalen Ramsey to a long-term extension. Assuming the Rams are serious about getting Gurley off the books, it’d be a pretty low risk situation for the Dolphins to jump into — provided the team is able to emulate the Osweiler deal between the Browns and Texans.
If the Dolphins could coax a 2nd-round pick and RB Todd Gurley out of the Rams for a 4th-round pick (Miami will have a compensatory 4th-rounder coming their way for losing Ja’Wuan James in free agency), why wouldn’t they do it? Gurley is 25 years old and although he’s admittedly facing a potential career downturn and some long-term knee issues, the Dolphins certainly don’t have a better option. The cap space will be inconsequential for the Dolphins in the early years of the team’s rebuild, the team could certainly use another early draft selection and Gurley would immediately be the best runner on the team.
And by the time Miami is ready to really turn up the heat and contend, they can readdress Gurley’s salary and either renegotiate a new deal or cut him after the end of the 2021 season, when he’ll have no guarantees written into his contract until the start of the 2021 training camp.
So, Miami — pick up the phone. See if you can’t manufacture some more magic with the Rams. What’s the worst that could happen?
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