Copyright Essentially Sports
The Miami Dolphins just became the first team this season to pull the trigger on a front-office shakeup, firing their General Manager midyear. Now, the rumor mill is spinning out of control. With an interim GM, Champ Kelly stepping in, it sounds like Miami might be open for business. Cowboys legend Michael Irvin is already connecting the dots. On his YouTube channel, Irvin didn’t waste any time urging Jerry Jones to take advantage of the Dolphins’ chaos to shore up Dallas’ underperforming defense. He dropped some names that made ears perk up in the Cowboys Nation. “Bradley Chubb, will they be trading him? Will they be trading Jaelan Phillips? They wanna try to enquire about (Jaylen) Waddle.” Sure, bringing in guys like Chubb or Phillips might not fix everything that’s gone wrong with the Cowboys’ defense this season. But it surely would be a massive boost. “All this talk about the Dallas Cowboys in the market for a trade. When I heard Bradley Chubb’s only gonna be making a million, I said ‘Uh Oh,’ a new GM, Cowboys will be poking around to see what kind of deal they can get.” “So they’re throwing everything around what’s going on with the Dolphins, and I say, ‘Hmm. That looks like a situation where Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones will be calling to see what they can get,’'” Irvin added. There’s plenty of logic behind that idea. Chubb, the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft, was shipped to Miami from Denver back in 2022. He’s carrying a base salary of just $1.255 million this season, though if the Dolphins were to move him before Tuesday’s trade deadline, they’d be stuck with a $23.8 million dead-money hit in 2026. Phillips, meanwhile, is playing on his fifth-year option, pulling in $13.25 million for the season. If the Cowboys made a move, they’d be taking on around $5.8 million of that salary. It might just be enough to tempt Jerry Jones. The catch? Dallas wouldn’t be the only team at the table. According to insider Mike Florio, multiple clubs have already inquired about Miami’s pass rushers, meaning it could turn into a bidding war fast. And as for Jaylen Waddle? Well, the Cowboys, or any other team, can forget about him. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports Dolphins reluctant to trade Jaylen Waddle On Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter pretty much poured cold water on the idea that the Dolphins might entertain offers for their star wideout. “For starters, the Dolphins are expected to ask for (in the words of a source) “a 1-plus” in any potential trade for Waddle, meaning they believe they would have to receive a first-round draft pick plus other compensation,” he wrote. Sure, the Cowboys have the draft capital, two first-rounders over the next two years. But does it feel like a deal that makes sense for anyone involved? Jerry Jones loves a splash as much as anyone in football, but this isn’t a splash that solves his problems. For Miami, it’s hard to imagine life without Waddle. He’s been one of the few steady forces on a team that’s lost its early-season rhythm. Since Tyreek Hill went down, Waddle has led the Dolphins in receiving in four of their last five games. He’s the one piece of that offense that has actually worked. For the Cowboys, George Pickens has turned into one of the quiet success stories of this Dallas season. When CeeDee Lamb missed time, Pickens stepped right into the WR1 role and looked the part. Through the season, he’s caught 43 passes and found the end zone six times. He and Lamb could easily become one of the best WR pairings in football. Prescott loves throwing to him, Lamb’s openly talked about how well they complement each other, and Jerry Jones adores him, too. Will the Dolphins choose to just extend Waddle’s contract?
