Dolphins Trade Proposal for 49ers $14.4 Million Star
The seats are heating up significantly for the Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel. Grier hasn’t been able to build a stable roster, particularly at the offensive line. McDaniel hasn’t been able to make proper adjustments and shift identities when needed to. The Dolphins need to make some big moves in the remainder of the off-season through free agency, the 2025 NFL Draft or trades. The impact players are not available in free agency and the draft won’t make the immediate impact. If Grier and McDaniel want to go big or potentially lose their jobs at the end of the possibly underwhelming season, the Dolphins might want to consider a trade for an elite veteran. One player the Dolphins can turn to for leadership and become an immediate contributor offensively is San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle. The Dolphins have to attempt to give quarterback Tua Tagovailoa a reliable short-to-mid range target in the passing game and a talented target outside of wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. McDaniel was Kittle’s offensive coordinator when McDaniel was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2021 and the run-game coordinator in the three years before that. The 49ers may still be looking to relieve the salary cap space to give quarterback Brock Purdy to go from under $1 million a year to potentially $50 million this off-season. Kittle is in the final year of a five-year; $75 million deal where he will earn $14.4 million this season. The 49ers might not want to pay a 33-year-old tight end next off-season. They may prefer to keep a younger wide receiver in Brandon Aiyuk for Purdy.
Kittle can be an immediate offensive star for a win-now Dolphins team. The 49ers can relieve more salary pressure for their franchise quarterback, potentially one of their two third-round picks and one of their two fifth-round picks.
Dolphins’ bizarre free-agency decision piles on pressure in the draft
Releasing Kendall Fuller before the start of free agency made sense. It was a move the Miami Dolphins needed to make. What they have done to replace him, however, is shocking.
Miami entered free agency with a little money (not a lot) to spend and a gaping hole opposite Jalen Ramsey. Chris Grier loves the investment in cornerbacks but hasn’t really hit one out of the park yet, although Ramsey is awfully close. Free agency’s initial wave netted the Dolphins nothing spectacular, and by the time the second wave ended, fans wondered exactly what the time was doing.
Strapped for cash, it seems Miami couldn’t afford to fix the hole at cornerback but instead opted to make the most bizarre signing of Artie Burns.
The former Seahawk has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, missing 36 games over the past four seasons.
Dolphins’ failure to fix cornerback need in free agency could come back to haunt them
There are two thoughts on this. Either Grier has every intention of spending a high draft pick on a cornerback, or he fully believes Cam Smith and Storm Duck will solve the problem.
By putting themselves into this position, Grier will likely reach for a cornerback in the draft, much like he did with Smith two years ago. In free agency, Asante Samuel Jr. is the only veteran worth considering.
