The Miami Dolphins return to the practice field on Tuesday with a mandatory minicamp over the next three days. This will be the last opportunity for the team to be together as a full unit until training camp begins in the latter portion of July.
Over the last few weeks, the scattered organized team activities have been rather productive for the Dolphins, having seen veterans come back close to peak physical condition and form, young players getting healthier and closer to 100% and experimental positional situations seemingly progressing properly.
Furthermore, in the productive mindset, Miami was able to utilize a small portion of the $13.6 million savings from the Byron Jones cut at the start of the month, as they inked three of their four 2023 draftees, with just second-round cornerback Cam Smith remaining.
The next few days will also be an excellent opportunity for the team’s undrafted free agents to impress before several weeks of business will still be conducted in front offices around the league.
As for business, there are rumors and smoke coming out from Miami general manager Chris Grier’s office, as the Dolphins seem to be on a very short list of potential suitors for Dalvin Cook. However, it remains to be seen how much cooking Grier is willing to do to create a fire that would ignite an acquisition of a veteran running back currently on the market.
Minnesota is likely making efforts for a trade, which behooves them financially over a simple cut from a salary cap savings as well as a dead-cap standpoint. Yet, if the price isn’t agreed upon, and the Vikings are forced to simply cut their losses, a team will swoop in with a fresh contract.
In a fun coincidence, something you really can’t even script, both the rookie Smith and veteran Cook, each in their own storyline with the Dolphins, share the same agent.
Regardless of the salary ramifications, Miami currently sits at 90 players, so any importing of a player would simply call for export as well in some form. That could be player compensation in part of a deal for Cook, another potential deal with a different team for a pick package or a cut of their own to make things neat. The Vikings don’t seem to be interested in adding more players, so the hold-up could be an agreement on the draft pick(s) in which Miami, or any other team, would need to send to Minnesota.
It’s to be noted that Miami is without some key capital in the 2024 draft. They’ll be without a third-rounder, which was stripped away from the NFL for violating league tampering rules with now-retired quarterback Tom Brady. They’re also without a 2024 fourth-rounder, which was part of the Bradley Chubb trade with the Denver Broncos last season.
Interestingly enough, that Chubb trade was made possible from capital set up from the famous Laremy Tunsil trade with the Houston Texans. The Chubb deal became a branch on the Tunsil tree after yet another deal, and part of that was a 2025 fifth-round pick.
In what could be a remarkable addition to that tree, should Grier be able to flip that 2025 fifth-rounder as part of a tolerable pick package to Minnesota for Cook; that could just make the Dolphins running game as strong as oak.
