Dolphins Rumors: Miami Wanted Too Much For Bradley Chubb, Jaylen Waddle

One team that seemed like a surefire seller at the NFL trade deadline was the Miami Dolphins.

At 2-7 and firing longtime general manager Chris Grier on Friday, why not sell and build towards the future? The rumors swirled around the team for what felt like the entire season. Some rumors sounded more like hope, like trading Jaylen Waddle to the New England Patriots.

However, being able to make a trade work for all those pieces called for the Dolphins to be realistic with their asking prices. For a team that last won a playoff game over 20 years ago, we should’ve known those expectations would be high.

Mike Florio shared on PFT Live Podcast why deals didn’t get done for Chubb or Waddle

“Somebody called me and said, ‘All this talk about Jaylen Waddle possibly being traded, this isn’t (Dolphins interim GM) Champ Kelly.'” Florio began.

“Any trades that the Dolphins make are being made by the owner. They’re not throwing the keys to an interim GM who has virtually no chance of being the GM next year.”

Florio’s co-host, Chris Simms, chimed in with a defense of Kelly that Florio concurred with: “At the same time, he (Kelly) knows more football than (Dolphins owner) Stephen Ross.”

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is correct to not hand major, franchise-altering decisions over to a front office member that may not be around for the next regime. But he still should do what’s best for the franchise and get as high a trade return as possible for Miami’s inevitable rebuild.

Either way, the price for Bradley Chubb of Jaylen Waddle was reportedly too high for other teams to want to get a deal done.