The Miami Dolphins weren’t set on tanking right away. Instead, they tried to trade for a franchise quarterback.
The Miami Dolphins are currently in tanking mode as they head into the 2019 NFL season. Sure, they signed Ryan Fitzpatrick a week ago, but let’s be honest – we all know that’s just a temporary move to keep fans at least a little interested while they attempt to score a high draft pick for next year’s draft.
Before the Dolphins entered into their tank mode though, they did try to make a blockbuster move with a trade for a quarterback. And no, they weren’t contacting the Baltimore Ravens for Joe Flacco like the Denver Broncos did. Instead, they called the Detroit Lions in an attempt to get Matt Stafford to come down to South Beach.
How far did the talks go?
Before the Miami Dolphins got rid of their former head coach Adam Gase, he was trying to save his career down south. Knowing that Ryan Tannehill was not the answer at quarterback, Gase got on the phone with the Lions and inquired about Stafford’s availability. Unfortunately for Miami, the Lions were not all that interested in moving Stafford.
Gase and Patricia are friends and the Lions coach was new to the Lions at the time and considering all options on how to improve his new team. Although it’s not believed the talks reached a point where the Dolphins were asked what they were willing to give for Stafford, it is believed Gase would have offered at minimum Miami’s 2018 first-round pick and probably more.
According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, the Lions were looking at a potential deal that could’ve involved a first-round pick and most likely more. But the Lions were set and didn’t show enough interest in moving Stafford as the details of a potential deal was hardly discussed.
Looking at it from Stafford’s perspective, he should feel pretty secure about his position as the quarterback moving forward for the Lions. Just because he signed a major five-year deal a couple of years back, doesn’t always mean he couldn’t be replaced if he was struggling. With this recent report coming out about his lack of availability on the trade market though, Stafford gets reassured that he is the face of the Lions.
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