The Dolphins pulled off a blockbuster trade today where they received an absolute haul for WR Jaylen Waddle from the Broncos. The Dolphins will receive a first round, third round and fourth round pick for Waddle while also sending their 4th rounder to Denver. Waddle hasn’t cleared 1,000 receiving yards since 2013.

This is an amazing trade for Miami, assuming they did not pick up any salary. Better receivers than Waddle have gone for less than this and Miami’s path to being relevant again is about getting younger players and this is a great set of draft picks. Miami will take on $26.3 million in dead money for the trade and will receive a $3.08 million salary cap credit in 2027.

Waddle’s contract was another in a long line of missteps by the Dolphins the last few years. Waddle was signed to an extension in 2024 and played exactly 0 games under the new years of his contract which begin in 2026. They paid him about $16 million more than his rookie contract for those 0 games. Miami will likely need to restructure another contract to execute the trade on the cap. They will wind up with over $180 million in dead money this year which is crazy.

Denver I am sure has to be looking at this like they are getting Waddle at a discounted price since Miami prepaid that part of the contract. They will take on $68.6 million in salary over the next three seasons with $41.3 million effectively guaranteed. So in reality its a two year, $41 million contract and then a decision year. They have some wiggle room with how they handle the cap charges as they can either take on a $4.9 million cap charge this year or they can decline an option that is due in a few days and take on a $17.24 million cap charge and then reduce his future cap charges instead.

I am not sure I understand this trade from Denver’s side. I understand the rookie contract window, but usually that is where you go out and spend in free agency. Trades like this should come in season when you know if you are competitive or not. They need a monster year from Waddle to justify the price here.