Dolphins trading WR DeVante Parker to AFC East rival New England Patriots
The Dolphins are trading wide receiver DeVante Parker to the New England Patriots, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Saturday, sending the team’s longest-tenured player to an AFC East rival.
The team is trading Parker and a 2022 fifth-round pick and receiving a 2023 third-round pick from New England.
At this week’s league owners meetings in Palm Beach, general manager Chris Grier was asked whether he expected Parker to be on the roster in 2022 amid a revamped receiving corps.
“We like having good players, you know?” said Grier, who added he had received trade calls regarding Parker. “We feel really good about that receiver room. The expectation is he’ll be here, but we always listen. I’ve always said here, and the guys that know me, we’ll always listen for all players on the roster.”
Parker, 29, was a 2015 first-round pick out of Louisville and the longest-tenured player on a team that went through a multi-year strip-down and rebuild. He appeared to be the odd man out, however, in a new scheme under coach Mike McDaniel and a wide receiver room that now includes Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson, as well as Jaylen Waddle.
According to a source, Parker never asked for a trade but the Dolphins gave him permission to seek a trade partner when it became clear he was not in the team’s long-term plans.
“I am grateful to Chris Grier and Mr. [Stephen] Ross for how they worked with me to make this happen,” Parker’s agent Jimmy Gould told the Miami Herald, “and I am very grateful to coach [Bill] Belichick and Mr. [Robert] Kraft for their efforts and faith in DeVante.”
In 93 games and 64 starts, Parker’s 4,727 receiving yards rank sixth in franchise history and his 338 receptions rank eighth. Parker was often injured, however, limiting his availability and production during his Dolphins tenure. He played every game in a season just once and missed nine games the past two seasons.
Parker had two years remaining on a four-year, $40 million extension he signed in 2019. He was set to receive non-guaranteed base salaries of $5.65 million in 2022 and $5.7 million in 2023. The Dolphins will save about $3.4 in cap space in 2022 while taking a $5.4 million hit in dead money by trading Parker before June 1. The team’s cap savings in 2023 will be $6.3 million with $2.7 million in dead money. The Dolphins entered Saturday with about $11 million in cap space, a figure that is expected to increase after agreeing to a new deal with cornerback Xavien Howard on Friday.
After sending three 2022 picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in the trade for Hill and now an additional fifth-rounder in the Parker trade, the Dolphins are set to have just four picks in next month’s draft. The team still holds a third-rounder (No. 102), fourth-rounder (No. 125) and two seventh-rounders (No. 224, 247).
The team has begun to stockpile 2023 draft picks, however, with five selections in the first three rounds, including two first-rounders.
The Dolphins are set to enter the 2022 season with Hill, Waddle and Wilson as their top three receivers. The team re-signed Preston Williams to a one-year deal and signed former San Francisco 49ers receivers Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft. They’re expected to compete for roster spots, along with players such as Lynn Bowden, Cody Core and DeVonte Dedmon.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 1:20 PM.
