The Miami Dolphins spent all offseason adding to the roster, filling out a 90-man crew. With all those additions, eventually something has to give as the team starts to work toward cutting down to the final 53 on August 30.
As camp goes on, with preseason getting underway on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dolphins will gain a better idea of who is a fit for their roster and who’s expendable, thanks to all the talent they’ve added. Sure, they could take the easy way out and just cut the players who won’t have a big role.
But that’s not how you build the best NFL roster possible. Instead, the Dolphins are engaging in trade talks with teams around the league for some of the players who hold trade value.
The Dolphins added Tyreek Hill, Cedrick Wilson Jr., and rookie fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanna to a wide receiver depth chart that already had Jaylen Waddle, Preston Williams, and Lynn Bowden Jr. Plus, they still have five other receivers currently on their roster.
Obviously, this is way too many pass-catchers, and they’re likely to only keep five, six, or maybe even seven of the current group of 11 receivers on the depth chart. So it was only a matter of time before trade rumors started rolling into South Beach. And they have.
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Miami Dolphins looking to thin the herd of receivers via trade
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Dolphins are already considering trading some of their receivers. Specifically, Preston Williams and Lynn Bowden Jr. have already been discussed in trades with other teams around the NFL.
Williams burst onto the scene as an undrafted rookie in 2019. He managed to haul in 32 receptions for 428 receiving yards and three touchdowns at the age of 22. Unfortunately, he’s caught just 24 passes for 359 yards in the two years since.
Now 25, Williams could likely land an opportunity elsewhere where he may have a better chance of seeing the field. Williams, if any team takes a chance via trade, would probably bring back a future seventh-round pick, if that.
Lynn Bowden Jr. was drafted by the Raiders in the third round to be a sort of running back/wide receiver after being used in a similar role at Kentucky. But we don’t know what happened from there. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a fourth-round pick before he even played for the Raiders during his rookie season in 2020.
Bowden then caught 28 passes for 211 yards and ran nine times for 32 yards in 10 games with the Dolphins in his first season. He then battled a hamstring injury in his second year, causing him to miss the entire season. But Bowden’s just 24 and is hoping for a breakout year, only it might have to happen with another team, if at all.
Like Williams, Bowden would likely only bring back a late-round selection. Maybe a sixth-round pick if they’re lucky?