In first meeting since Laremy Tunsil trade, deal still hovers over Dolphins, Texans
For the last several months, the Dolphins have been clouded by their interest in and pursuit of a trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, which did not come to fruition ahead of the NFL trade deadline Tuesday.
As the organization seemingly closed one chapter of the Watson saga by deciding against executing a trade, the ramifications of another blockbuster deal — the Dolphins’ 2019 trade of left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Texans — can still be felt, linking the two franchises together and completing altering their futures.
On Sunday, the teams will meet for the first time — without Tunsil, who is on injured reserve with a thumb injury — since the trade, a deal that, to this date, has yet to deliver a clear winner.
The intentions of both franchises could not have been more clear — or polar — when they first agreed to the trade. The Dolphins, in the first season of a multiyear strip-down and rebuild, wanted to accumulate draft capital. The Texans, an up-and-coming team in the AFC, wanted to maximize their window behind Watson and solidify a leaky offensive line. So Miami sent Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills and a 2020 fourth-round pick for a bounty of assets, the most appealing of which were 2020 and 2021 first-round picks and a second-rounder in 2021.
The day after the trade, coach Brian Flores assured reporters the franchise’s intent was to win as many games as possible in 2019, but it was clear the trade of Tunsil and the jettisoning of a number of veterans during the season were made with eyes on the future.
“The goal isn’t to try to patch some holes to go 9-7 and make the playoffs. I want to compete for and win Super Bowls,” owner Stephen Ross said at the league owners meeting, two weeks after the trade. “We took an objective look at our situation at the end of last year and realized that we were a long way away from where we need to be.”
As the 2021 season began, the two franchises had seemingly reversed rules.
The Texans, coming off a 4-12 season, starved of draft capital and at odds with Watson, who requested a trade in January and hasn’t played in the wake of 22 civil suits and 10 criminal complaints alleging sexual misconduct, were looking to rebuild the roster with first-year general manager Nick Caserio and first-year head coach David Culley.
On the other hand, the Dolphins, doubling their win total to 10 in a 2020 season few foresaw, were looking to maximize what they believed to be a championship-level defense, hence their infatuation in Watson despite drafting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 Draft.
And yet, when the two teams face each other at Hard Rock Stadium, it’ll be with identical 1-7 records and seven-game losing streaks. For Houston, it has been a season that has aligned with expectations. For Miami, the reality of its season couldn’t be further from the intentions, with a start that matches the first year of its rebuild.
When Chris Grier, in his sixth season as GM, spoke to reporters Wednesday, he was asked about his draft track record.
“We’ve added some good young players,” he answered. “I think last year we won 10 games and this year has been not where we’re happy. Being 1-7, no one’s happy. We’re all frustrated. We’re trying to turn this thing around in the second half of the season. But we’ve added good young players. We’re happy with where they are and we think they’ll keep developing and look forward to them all being good contributors in the future.”
Though the 2021 Draft haul, particularly Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland, has produced instant-impact players, overall shortcomings in the draft cast an even murkier cloud over the Tunsil trade.
The Dolphins eventually parlayed Tunsil into four first-round picks — with two coming in 2022 and 2023 from the San Francisco 49ers — but one of those selections, cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, has been a nonfactor, and another, Waddle has been promising but severely underutilized. The decision to trade away the team’s 2022 first-rounder, projected to be a top-five pick, still looms as a potential miscalculated risk. And despite what positive affirmations Grier and Flores have spoken about Tagovailoa, the level of their “due diligence” into a Watson trade resonates just as clearly.
Separately, no player selected since the Tunsil trade has flashed the ceiling of Tunsil, a two-time Pro Bowler, or that of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was also traded during the 2019 teardown and has gone on to be a two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro selection with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Whereas a Texans loss Sunday wouldn’t be much of a gut punch for Houston — mirroring Miami’s 2019 plan of building for the future and establishing a culture in the present — a Dolphins defeat would just be another blow to the organization’s execution of a vision it sold to fans two years ago.
“It’s easy to get down and it’s easy to not have belief or trust anymore when you’re 1-7,” tight end Mike Gesicki said. “But I think this is the time when you can really improve and really get better and fight through adversity. I’ve been on a team before where we were 1-7 and we weren’t supposed to win a game the whole year and we come out and have a couple of wins to end the season and people are on a high note and all of that kind of stuff. I’m not saying that’s this year, but I’m saying that we have to be able to fight through adversity and build off of positives to, kind of like I said earlier, turn this corner.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 11:56 AM.
