All the buzz yesterday surrounding the Miami Dolphins and the Seattle Seahawks stemmed from a report that the Dolphins were a team to watch in the Seattle organization found themselves headed for a split with their franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson. But a report in the evening narrowed the list of teams Wilson would currently waive his “no trade” clause for — leaving just four teams, none of which were the Dolphins.
Russell Wilson has told the Seahawks he wants to play in Seattle but, if a trade were considered, the only teams he would go to are the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders and Bears, his agent Mark Rodgers said to ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 25, 2021
Good! No harm, no foul on that front. But if we’re going to put the Seahawks roster under the microscope for inspection, perhaps there is a player that could make some sense for the Dolphins to pursue after all. Not Russell Wilson, but rather one of his preferred targets in wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
Lockett is entering 2021 on the final year of his current deal with the Seahawks and is due for a $13.75M cap charge against Seattle this season. Seattle isn’t in as dire shape against the 2021 salary cap as many teams across the league are (OverTheCap.com has them listed at just over $4M under the cap as things currently stand). But they’re also set to see a slew of core pieces hit free agency, including LB KJ Wright, CB Shaquill Griffin and RB Chris Carson. Carson is already expected to not return, but Seattle will need to assess which players are on the outs and decide who to prioritize in the coming weeks.
Where does that leave Lockett in a contract year? Perhaps as an available asset?
Miami’s division rival in Buffalo traded for a veteran wide receiver in Stefon Diggs last offseason and the move came up aces. For Miami, the team could potentially trade one of their 2nd-round picks to Seattle for Lockett in a salary dump move for the Seahawks and then move to extend Lockett to keep him in Miami for the foreseeable future. He’d be an undeniable upgrade over Jakeem Grant in that specific role in the Dolphins’ offense and while he’s come with a hefty price tag, there’s no reason Miami couldn’t restructure some of his base salary for next season to keep him 2021 cap number low.
For as good as the 2021 wide receiver class is, you won’t find a wide receiver better for the Dolphins at No. 36 or 50 overall than Lockett, who is already proven as an NFL talent with consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and a total of 3,076 yards and 28 receiving touchdowns in his last three seasons in Seattle.
You can keep your Russell Wilson speculation. But is Tyler Lockett available? That’d be some business the Dolphins should be willing to explore.