Winning and losing moves: Here’s what has happened to players Miami Dolphins discarded
Within weeks of the 2019 NFL regular season kicking off the Miami Dolphins had pretty much transformed their roster.
Head coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier, with the help of vice president of football administration Brandon Shore — whom Flores mentions practically every time he talks of the people who make football decisions — went about the business of moving out the old and bringing in the new.
And the new is, well, a work in progress. The Dolphins are 2-7 this season.
But what about the old?
What about the players the Dolphins decided were not worthy of keeping as part of the team’s future?
What about quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was traded to the Tennesse Titans? What about defensive end Robert Quinn, who was traded to the Dallas Cowboys? What about left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who was traded to the Houston Texans? What about defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers? What about receiver Kenny Stills, who was traded the the Texans? What about linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was traded to the New Orleans Saints? What about defensive end Cameron Wake, who was not re-signed?
Let’s check to see how they’re doing...
▪ Ryan Tannehill: He has become a latter-day Music City Miracle. He was added to the Titans as an insurance policy for starter Marcus Mariota, but when the starter was generally ineffective, Tannehill took over and the Titans are 3-1 in the games Tannehill has started. Tannehill is generally performing better than he ever did in Miami. He’s completing a career-high 71.3 percent of his passes. He has thrown 8 TDs against 4 INTs. His QB rating of 104.4 is also a career high so far.
What we should think: Be happy for the guy. Look, he never played like that in Miami. My guess is he will regress to the mean in Tennessee. And the Dolphins had very little choice but to move on because Tannehill was going to cost $27 million or so against the cap had he stayed in 2019.
▪ Robert Quinn: Oh, look, another player who performs better for another team than he did for the Dolphins. Quinn has 7.5 sacks in seven starts for the Cowboys. He had 6.5 sacks in 16 starts for the Dolphins last season. He has seven tackles for loss in Dallas. He had nine all last season for Miami. He has 11 QB hits for the Cowboys in seven games. He had 15 all last season for the Dolphins.
What we should think: Be happy for the guy. Look, I’m not sure Quinn was going to love the whole tanking process with the Dolphins. He was suspended for two games with Dallas and has been very productive. The Dolphins got a sixth-round pick for Quinn, which is about saying they got a special teams contributor in all likelihood.
If I’m the Dolphins I’m seriously wondering why players perform better elsewhere than they do in Miami.
▪ Minkah Fitzpatrick: The Steelers were 0-2 when they traded for Fitzpatrick and were mocked for the acquisition because they were without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers are 5-2 since Fitzpatrick arrived, and nobody’s mocking them anymore. Fitzpatrick has turned the Steelers’ defense around. They struggled to turn the ball over before he arrived but not any more. Fitzpatrick has intercepted five passes and scored two touchdowns as a Steeler. And he’s a Defensive Player of the Year Candidate. The people in Pittsburgh are comparing him to Troy Polamalu, who won the DPOY award in 2010.
What we should think: This one stings. A lot. The Steelers did something the Dolphins coaching staff refused to do, which is play Fitzpatrick at one position. Fitzpatrick is making that decision by Flores and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham seem silly. The Dolphins will get Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in 2020, but if the Steelers keep winning, the value of that pick keeps sinking. It’s currently at No. 22 overall. The Dolphins picked Fitzpatrick No. 11 overall in 2018. This is a nightmare in the making so far.
▪ Laremy Tunsil: This is funny, but there’s still a video on the Miami Dolphins website that makes the point Tunsil is the best young tackle in the NFL. (I suppose that will be taken down soon because it makes the Dolphins look bad). Anyway, Tunsil still struggles with penalties. He’s No. 2 or No. 3 in the NFL in penalties, with 10 this year, including eight false starts. But he’s simply very good. In Houston’s pass-happy offense, he’s almost always in 1-on-1 situations and has allowed only two sacks in eight games.
“I think that Laremy has added a lot to our locker room, our offensive line,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s played really well in run and pass, just a really good guy. He’s the same guy every day, got a great demeanor, smart player.”
What we should think: Maybe the Dolphins use the two first-round picks plus the second-round picks they got from the Tunsil and Kenny Stills trade to turn their team around. That is yet to be seen. But right now those picks will come significantly and predictably later than the Dolphins believed. The Texans are currently supposed to draft No. 26 in the first round, so it is unlikely Miami will find a player of Tunsil’s ability that late in the draft.
▪ Kiko Alonso: He had a great season with the Dolphins playing at middle linebacker in 2016 but fell off in ‘17 and ‘18 playing outside. And he simply didn’t want to be part of the rebuilding and playing multiple positions with the new Dolphins. So he was traded for Vince Biegel. And although the Saints are happy with Alonso, who has played nine games with two starts, he’s not exactly a star there. He has 17 tackles and one quarterback hit. That’s it.
What we should think: The trade has worked to Miami’s favor so far. Yes, the Saints are happy, but he Dolphins should be happier. Biegel has started two games for the Dolphins and has 29 tackles with two sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits. He pressures the QB at a rate comparable to big NFL names such as Za’Darius Smith and J.J. Watt. So far, the Dolphins have come out ahead on this exchange.
▪ Cameron Wake: The Dolphins simply chose not to re-sign Wake when he was an unrestricted free agent. He wanted to come back, but the Dolphins went in another direction. Wake has played eight games for the Titans but is no longer a starter and he has overcome some injury issues -- understandable at age 37. Wake has 2.5 sacks for the Titans.
What we should think: Continue to remember Wake was a fine player for the Dolphins, but the time had come. His moving on wasn’t exactly celebrated by Miami. So I have issues with the way it was handled in the end. But it was time. Good decision by the Dolphins.
▪ Kenny Stills: So, Jay-Z, who Kenny Stills criticized as something of a sellout days weeks before being traded from Miami, helped convince the NFL to give Colin Kaepernick a combine-type opportunity on Saturday. I’m sure Stills’ head exploded on that one. And it hasn’t been a great season for Stills so far. He wasn’t a favorite of coach Brian Flores and was traded as part of the Tunsil trade. He has caught 22 passes for 367 yards and one TD in Houston. He has started two games but is generally the third option in the Houston offense when everyone’s healthy.
What we should think: Stills came and went. And he will be more remembered as a guy who took a knee during the national anthem and was active in the community than a guy who changed the Dolphins football fortunes. Part of that is good. Part of that is not. Wish him the best.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 12:31 AM.
