As trade deadline nears, the Miami Dolphins already have help at receiver lined up
To paraphrase Gisele Bundchen, Tua Tagovailoa cannot throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.
He cannot block for himself, either.
Put another way: Since Tagovailoa was quick to acknowledge his personal shortcomings in his NFL debut, Dolphins teammates, coaches and talent procurers should be open about their own — and how to fix it, either by playing better or getting better players.
“I thought the other 10 guys played well in spurts, didn’t play well in spurts,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Monday of his offense’s uninspiring performance against the Rams. “You need to get all 11 guys playing well, from play to play. We didn’t get that consistently enough yesterday.”
The trade deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday, and the Dolphins’ offense has considerable holes.
Some are due to injury; an offensive line with left tackle Austin Jackson is much better than one without him. (Jackson remains out indefinitely with a foot issue and Flores would not speculate Monday on when Jackson will return to practice.)
Some are due to roster evaluation; wide receiver Preston Williams has caught just 46.7 percent of his targets, a statistic that should not been seen as a reflection of his quarterbacks’ accuracy.
And others are due to factors beyond Miami’s control; receivers Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns choosing to sit out the year with COVID-19 concerns eliminated some dependable playmakers.
But there is some good news: Even if the Dolphins don’t make a move this week, their offensive roster will improve.
Dynamic receiver Antonio Callaway has served the last of his long drug-related suspension and is eligible to practice with the Dolphins for the first time on Wednesday.
Callaway, the 23-year-old burner originally from Miami Booker T. Washington High, will start off on the Dolphins’ practice squad, but if he’s in football shape and knows the offense, there’s no reason the Dolphins can’t activate him quickly and get him on the field.
He should be familiar with Chan Gailey’s playbook. The league allowed him to attend meetings during his suspension, which has spanned two years and two teams.
Callaway was a great talent at the University of Florida, but multiple off-field red flags caused him to fall to the fourth round of the 2018 Draft. The Browns took a shot on him, but Callaway didn’t last two seasons before Cleveland had seen enough.
Yet when he’s on the field, he’s electric. Callaway, who ran a 4.4-second 40 during the pre-draft process, caught 43 passes for 586 yards and five touchdowns for Cleveland in 2018.
The Dolphins probably would prefer seeing him on the practice field at least once before the trade deadline passes, but they don’t have that luxury.
So perhaps they double down on the position — trade for a veteran and work Callaway into the passing attack.
Among the names believed to be available? John Ross (Bengals), Golden Tate (Giants) and Marvin Jones (Lions).
Money will be a factor, of course. The Dolphins still have $16.6 million in cap space, but they want to carry as much of that over to 2021, since the cap could shrink some 10 percent due to COVID-19 financial issues.
Tate is not cheap. He’s owed $4.2 million during the rest of this season and $8.5 million next. Plus at age 32, his best football is probably behind him.
That’s why Ross, who has taken his unhappiness with the Bengals public, and Jones make more sense.
Ross is in the final year of his rookie contract and would cost the Dolphins just $1.5 million during the final nine weeks. Cincinnati surely wants to be rid of him; he didn’t even play Sunday against the Titans. But Ross did average 18.1 yards per catch last season.
“It’s not a secret that i have requested a trade,” he wrote on Twitter last week. “Trade me if this how y’all feel. I’m healthy and eager to play. I know I can be productive. It’s hard to love something when your not actually participating in it. Believe me, its not football that i don’t like.”
Meanwhile, the Lions have two players who could appeal to Miami — Jones, who has 45 career touchdowns, and running back Kerryon Johnson. Both are in the final year of their respective contracts and both have been productive in the past.
The Dolphins telegraphed a need at running back in their failed pursuit of Le’Veon Bell. Myles Gaskin is solid but not dynamic. Jordan Howard is healthy but hasn’t played in a month.
Meanwhile Falcons running back Todd Gurley, another player who could be on the move this week, has long fascinated the Dolphins’ front office. And with just $2 million owed the rest of the season, he is relatively cheap.
As for the offensive line, there is a potential fix if Jackson isn’t expected back soon, but it’s costly: Vikings offensive tackle Riley Reiff, whose name has also come up in trade rumors.
He’s owed $3.1 million the rest of this season and $11.7 million next, with a $2.2 million dead cap figure in 2021. Is the former first-round pick who turns 32 next month worth $5.3 million of 2021 cap space for nine games?
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 2:43 PM.
