The Miami Dolphins had a busy week heading into the Independence Day weekend. While the coaches and players are enjoying the break between minicamp and the start of training camp, the front office was busy adjusting the roster. Miami made two trades during the week, with four Pro Bowl players on the move following the deals.
Earlier this week, we asked you to grade those trades and to predict where the Dolphins will finish in the AFC East this year. You responded, voting in our SB Nation Reacts poll, and we now have the results. What did you think of the Dolphins’ trades?
Dolphins fans grade two trades
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who spent the offseason disgruntled and looking for a new team, and tight end Jonnu Smith, who wanted a pay raise after his first career Pro Bowl appearance last year, both had been rumored to be on the trade market. This week’s roster moves proved those rumors true. The Dolphins packaged the two players, along with a conditional 2027 seventh-round draft pick, to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Dolphins created a hole at tight end with the trade, sending away Smith, and reinforced the team’s need to add cornerback help with the official move on from Ramsey; still, they were able to add to their defensive secondary in bringing Fitzpatrick back to South Florida. Miami selected Fitzpatrick with the 11th overall pick in 2018. Still, after spending his rookie season under then-head coach Adam Gase and making the change to then-head coach Brian Flores in his second season, Fitzpatrick’s frustration with how the team was using him led to a trade with the Steelers. A little over five seasons later, he returns to Miami under current head coach Mike McDaniel.
Miami was not done, however. With the tight end position now a need, the Dolphins made a second trade, picking up tight end Darren Waller from the New York Giants the next day. Waller sat out the 2024 season, having decided to retire, but rumors indicated that this year he was considering a return, with a desire to play in Miami. Miami included a conditional 2026 sixth-round draft pick in the trade and received back a 2027 seventh-round pick.
What did fans think of these moves? Our first question in this week’s survey provides us an answer:
The fans give the trades a B, with nearly two-thirds of them giving it either an A or a B mark. Overall, the fans seem to think this is good for the Dolphins, with some optimism emerging from it.
We also asked you to discuss your grades in the comments of the survey. Here are some of the responses you gave:
Where will the Dolphins finish in the AFC East?
The second half of the survey consisted of a simple prediction of where Miami would finish in the AFC East this year. The Dolphins have been second in the division for three consecutive years and six times in the last decade. Will they be able to overtake the Buffalo Bills, who have won the division title each of the last five years? Will the New England Patriots or New York Jets surpass Miami?
Over at FanDuel sportsbook, the oddsmakers, even after the trades, have the Dolphins third in the division when looking at the chances the team has to win the AFC East. The Bills lead the way at -250, with the Patriots at +500. Miami is +700, while the Jets are a distant fourth at +1600.
Dolphins fans expect the team to finish ahead of both New England and New York, but once again behind the Bills, it would seem:
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A majority of the fans predict a second-place finish. Will that be how the season plays out? Will a second-place finish in the division include a trip to the playoffs, as it did in 2022 and 2023, but not last year?
