Miami Dolphins trade former first-round pick Charles Harris to Atlanta Falcons
The Miami Dolphins are trading defensive end Charles Harris for a seventh-round pick, a source has confirmed to the Miami Herald, moving on from a former first-round pick who has fallen fall short of expectations in his three pro seasons.
The Athletic first reported the transaction.
Harris, the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft, had just 3 1/2 sacks in 41 games with Miami.
Harris, who had one year left on his rookie contract (the Dolphins had shown no desire to pick up his fifth-year option), had fallen so far out of favor with Brian Flores’ staff that he was a healthy scratch for two games late in the 2019 season.
When asked in December what Harris needed to do to get back on the field, then-defensive coordinator Patrick Graham responded:
“I think just in terms of the game plan, that’s how we determine who’s going to play. Charles will just continue to keep working hard and whether it’s pressure — it depends on how you define what that pressure is, but I think that’s a collective thing whether it’s the call, whether it’s the group in terms of making sure the setup is right. Very seldom is it a one-person show. That’s not how we’re set up. He’s just got to keep working hard and keep grinding.”
With Harris gone, DeVante Parker is the only one of the team’s six first-rounders from 2013 to 2018 to make it to a second contract with the Dolphins. Dion Jordan was cut, Ja’Wuan James left for Denver in free agency, and Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick were traded.
The Dolphins are flush with edge defenders after free agency and the draft, and so Harris and Taco Charlton, who was cut Thursday, are the odd men out. Among the new additions are Shaq Lawson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Kyle Van Noy, Jason Strowbridge and Curtis Weaver.
The trade continues to add to the Dolphins’ already large cache of 2021 draft picks, with 10 picks total and two in the first and second rounds. They acquired an additional sixth-rounder last week in a trade with the Seahawks.
The trade also clears another $1.9 million in salary cap space, bringing the Dolphins roughly $24 million under the 2020 cap. About half of that will be needed to sign their rookie class.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 9:04 AM.
