Tag: Jaylen Waddle

Former LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr. finds a new home

Odell Beckham Jr. is taking his talents to South Beach.

A former LSU wide receiver will be making a move as far down the East Coast as possible.

[autotag]Odell Beckham Jr.[/autotag] spent last season with the Baltimore Ravens where he played in 14 games and made 65 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns.

This season, he will be moving from the Northeast to the Southeast. He will be taking his talents to South Beach. Odell has signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins that is worth up to $8.5 million.

The Dolphins offense is stacked. Miami has Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback, [autotag]Jaylen Waddle[/autotag], and [autotag]Tyreek Hill[/autotag] at wide receiver, and [autotag]De’Von Achane[/autotag] and [autotag]Raheem Mostert[/autotag] at running back. Adding Beckham to that will make the offense even more explosive.

Beckham will be entering his 11th season in the NFL this fall. During his career, he has played in 110 games making 556 receptions for 7,932 yards, and 59 touchdowns. The Dolphins will be the fifth different team Beckham has played for.

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Former Ravens WR Odell Beckham Jr. to sign 1-year, $3 million deal with Dolphins

After spending a season with the Baltimore Ravens, veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is staying in the AFC and signing a one-year deal worth up to $8.25 million with the Miami Dolphins, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. For the …

After spending a season with the Baltimore Ravens, veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is staying in the AFC and signing a one-year deal worth up to $8.25 million with the Miami Dolphins, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Ravens signed Beckham in free agency last offseason to a one-year deal worth up to $18 million. The move seemed to help Baltimore’s relationship with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who had yet to sign a new contract with the team and even requested a trade earlier in the offseason.

Beckham’s season with the Ravens did not live up to the contract, catching just 35 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns, but his veteran leadership and big-play ability in key moments throughout the season proved to be valuable.

Beckham, 31, will now join one of the league’s best offensive attacks alongside wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle under head coach and offensive guru Mike MacDaniel in Miami. Meanwhile, Baltimore will look to fourth-year receiver Rashod Bateman to step up in Beckham’s absence this season while also hoping for fourth-round rookie Devontez Walker to make an impact.

Miami Dolphins pick up Jaylen Waddle’s fifth-year option

The Miami Dolphins have exercised WR Jaylen Waddle’s fifth-year option on his rookie contract.

Former Alabama Crimson Tide football wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has had his fifth-year option picked up by the Miami Dolphins. In 2021, Waddle was selected No. 6 overall by the franchise and instantly became a key contributor.

Being paired with his former college quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, Waddle set a new rookie receptions record and has improved in his two seasons since then.

In all three seasons, Waddle has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. This feat is impressive for any receiver in the league, but especially when Waddle shares targets with one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, Tyreek Hill.

With his fifth-year option being picked up, Waddle will be under contract with the Dolphins through the 2025 season.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Jaylen Waddle and other former Alabama players in the NFL as the 2024 season progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Dolphins pick up fifth-year options for Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips

The Dolphins made the easy decision to pick up the fifth-year options on the contracts of Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips.

Two weeks after Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters in no uncertain terms that the team planned to pick up the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of Jaylen Waddle and Jaelan Phillips, the team made those decisions official Monday.

Both players were first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft. Waddle was taken with the No. 6 overall selection and Phillips was taken with the No. 18 pick.

Waddle has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons with the Dolphins and has hauled in 18 touchdowns. Phillips has recorded 22 sacks with the team and was off to the best start of his career in 2023 with 6.5 sacks in eight games before his year ended due to an Achilles tear.

The fifth-year option for Waddle is set to pay him $15,591,000. For Phillips, it’s $13,251,000.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, an extension for Waddle is expected to be high on the team’s to-do list in the remainder of the 2024 offseason. Fellow 2021 draftees Devonta Smith and Amon-Ra St. Brown have already received pricy extensions from the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions, respectively.

Both Waddle and Phillips are now under contract through the 2025 season and tentatively set to become free agents in 2026.

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Raheem Mostert makes his case that he’s the fastest Dolphins player

Tyreek Hill’s speed is legendary, but Raheem Mostert says he’s faster.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s electric speed has made him one of the biggest stars of the NFL and earned him the nickname “Cheetah.” But Raheem Mostert says Hill isn’t even the fastest player on the Dolphins’ roster.

“You’re looking at him,” Mostert said on a podcast with Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Arik Armstead. “That’s me. I’m taking that title. I’m the fastest.”

It’s a bold claim on a team with not only Hill, but wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane too.

“We argue all the time,” Mostert said. “Everybody goes back off of track, but I’ve got that too. I’m a three-time Big Ten champ, I made national championships twice.”

It’s true. Before the former Purdue running back put down a 4.34 40-yard dash at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, Mostert won Big Ten titles in the 60m, 100m, and 200m with the Boilermakers.

But Hill reportedly ran a 4.29 40 at his pro day before the 2016 NFL draft and Achane ran a 4.32 at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. And even Mostert can’t help but admit that Hill does things on the football field that are hard to explain.

“When we traded for him and he gets on the team, like the first day, this man hit like a slant and go and the way he ran, bro, out of there. I’m like ‘Oh yeah, no he’s a glitch,'” Mostert said. “Like, he has his back turned against the defender, he catches the ball and instantly he’s already ready to do a double up move. … It makes no sense.”

Evidently, seeing Hill’s speed in person didn’t settle the debate and a friendly competition started instead.

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Miami Dolphins expected to pick up Jaylen Waddle’s fifth-year option

Former Alabama wide receiver and Miami Dolphins star is expected to have his fifth-year option picked up.

Former Alabama Crimson Tide football wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was the sixth overall selection in the 2021 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins. Pairing him with his former college quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has proven to be a very smart move. Now, Waddle is expected to have his fifth-year option picked up by the Dolphins.

Waddle broke the NFL record for most receptions by a receiver in his rookie season. Since then, star receiver Tyreek Hill has joined the team, which led to Waddle’s role on the offense shrinking some. However, that has not prevented him from being a valuable member of the team’s receiving corps.

In 2023, Waddle reeled in 72 passes on 104 targets for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns. He and Hill are often considered to be one of the strongest receiving duos in the entire league.

Miami’s general manager, Chris Grier, shared with reporters that the franchise plans on picking up his fifth-year option before the upcoming deadline to do so.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Waddle and other former Alabama players in the NFL as the 2024 offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Dolphins to pick up Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips fifth-year options

The Dolphins will pick up the fifth-year options for their pair of 2021 first-rounders, keeping them under contract through the 2025 season.

The Miami Dolphins will exercise the fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, general manager Chris Grier told reporters Tuesday.

Neither is a surprise as the two 2021 first-round picks have proven themselves good selections for the team.

Waddle, the No. 6 pick three years ago, has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in all three of his seasons in the NFL with 19 touchdowns. On Monday, fellow Alabama alum and 2021 top 10 pick DeVonta Smith, who has nearly identical stats through his first three seasons, received an extension from the Philadelphia Eagles, which may serve as a baseline for negotiations between Waddle and the Dolphins.

Phillips, who was the No. 18 selection, has 22 sacks in 42 career games. After recording 6.5 sacks in eight games during the 2023 season, his year ended with an Achilles tear suffered in late November.

The fifth-year options, which are will keep both players under contract for the 2025 season, are set to pay Waddle about $15.6 million and Phillips about $13.25 million.

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New deal for Eagles’ DeVonta Smith sets baseline for Jaylen Waddle contract

Will extension talks with Jaylen Waddle be helped or hurt by the new contract for Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith?

The Philadelphia Eagles locked down former top-10 draft pick DeVonta Smith on a three-year, $75 million extension Monday. Coupled with the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, which was reportedly picked up and combined with the extension, it’s essentially a four-year, $90.6 million contract for Smith.

While that’s a lofty total at first glance, it presents a peculiar situation for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

The Dolphins selected Waddle at No. 6 overall in the 2021 NFL draft, four picks before the Eagles took Smith. Through three seasons, the Alabama products have produced nearly identical numbers:

  • Waddle: 47 games, 251 receptions, 3,385 yards, 19 total touchdowns
  • Smith: 50 games, 240 receptions, 3,178 yards, 19 total touchdowns

An average of $25 million per year would’ve made Smith one of the top five highest-paid receivers in the NFL along with Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp, and A.J. Brown. But coupled with the fifth-year option, Smith’s average of $22.65 million cracks the top 10 and lands behind the three-year, $70 million and four-year, $92 million contracts signed by Michael Pittman Jr. and Calvin Ridley, respectively, earlier this offseason.

The Dolphins would probably love to get Waddle at a similar price. Would the Miami receiver be willing to sign the same deal as Smith, though?

While he hasn’t produced the gaudy numbers of his teammate Hill, the 25-year-old receiver has put together three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Presumably, Waddle will want to get paid more than Smith, Pittman, and Ridley as he’s the youngest of the group and he’s been more productive than all three.

Some have suggested that the Smith deal provides a clean framework for a Waddle extension. That may be the case. It’s also possible that it creates an impasse in the negotiations, with the Dolphins hoping Waddle will take a deal that’s comparable to Smith’s while the receiver aims for a much loftier number.

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Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle responds to trade talk

No. 17 speaks on trade talks.

While the NFL world is a bit slow after the Kansas City Chiefs were crowned Super Bowl champions, the media is already bringing up some wild hypothetical, including former Miami Dolphins general manager Mike Tannenbaum saying the Dolphins and Chiefs should swap wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Fans across social media roasted Tannebaum for the suggestion, and Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill shared his thoughts on the topic.

Now, Waddle, himself, has reacted to the discussions.

Waddle has been extremely successful with the Dolphins. Despite battling injuries last season, he became the first in team history to record 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

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Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill reacts to Jaylen Waddle trade discussions

The Cheetah responds to the Jaylen Waddle trade talk.

Former Miami Dolphins general manager Mike Tannenbaum set the NFL world on fire on Tuesday when he proposed that the Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs should swap wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Fans went crazy in response on social media, but the first Dolphin to share their thoughts on the topic was wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has been vocal about supporting his teammates since he was traded to Miami from Kansas City just two years ago.

Through three seasons, Waddle has recorded 251 receptions for 3,385 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has the most receiving yards by any Dolphin through the first 47 games of their career, and he’s the first in team history to put up 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

Even before Hill and head coach Mike McDaniel arrived in South Florida in 2022, Waddle was already off to an impressive start in aqua and orange, setting the NFL’s rookie record for receptions (104, which was broken by Puka Nacua this past year).

Hill has three years remaining on his contract with the Dolphins, and it looks like he wants to keep Waddle around with him. Miami should want that as well.