INDIANAPOLIS — The Miami Dolphins have no intentions of trading wide receiver Jaylen Waddle this offseason.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier made that much clear while speaking with a small group of South Florida media members at the NFL scouting combine Wednesday afternoon.
“As I said in the middle of the season, no thoughts of trading Jaylen Waddle,” Grier said. “We want him here for a long time, and we think he’s a big part of our now and our future here. He’s a great person on and off the field, and we still think, as good as he is, he still has runway to keep getting better.”
Waddle’s name has recently been brought up as a trade possibility because ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum, the former Jets general manager and Dolphins vice president of football operations, created a hypothetical deal between Miami and the Kansas City Chiefs that he felt would make sense for both sides. Tannenbaum concocted a scenario where the Dolphins trade Waddle in exchange for standout Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Waddle’s name had also circulated in trade rumors ahead of the past season, as a potential piece the Dolphins could send to the Indianapolis Colts for running back Jonathan Taylor.
Speaking Aug. 30, as Miami made its cuts for an initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season, Grier said it was nothing more than “exploratory talks.”
“I can say there was no exchange of offers from either one of us,” Grier said then. “It was just general talks. So a lot of the stuff reported, I could tell you guys that 95 percent of it’s wrong. So we’ve had some discussions, but it’s no different than any player that’s ever released or available that we know about and have a discussion with the GM about it.”
Pressed further, Grier said of Waddle over the Taylor trade speculation: “Jaylen Waddle would not be available to anybody. It wouldn’t matter who they called about.”
As Tannenbaum’s idea picked up steam on social media last week, it got a reaction out of fellow Dolphins standout wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
“I’m all the way in Greece right now and I get on Twitter to see people talking crazy about dolphin football,” Hill wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“My boy Waddle is the future,” Hill continued in another post. “He is better than I was at this point in his career and for people in this fan base to want to trade him is ludicrous.
Hill added: “Him and (quarterback) Tua (Tagovailoa) was special before me and will be special after I leave.”
Waddle was a Dolphins first-round selection in the 2021 draft, taken with the No. 6 pick. Since, he has posted more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three NFL seasons.
Hill’s latest incident
Grier offered his reaction as Hill is in the news again this week for off-the-field trouble. A popular female social media influencer is suing him for allegedly breaking her leg when he charged into her performing a football drill at his Southwest Ranches home.
“We were made aware of it,” Grier said. “We were in communication with NFL security, so really can’t comment on any of that until all that stuff gets — we get all our information and find out what happened. But, for us, Tyreek has been a good addition for us, but in terms of the off-field stuff, we’ll get all the information before we can really comment on it.”
The alleged incident with model Sophie Hall occurred June 28.
Hill has a history of assault allegations. On June 18, he was accused of slapping a fishing charter company employee at a marina in Haulover Park, then offering him $200 and apologizing, according to a Miami-Dade Police report.
In 2019, Hill was suspended from the Kansas City Chiefs amid allegations that he had physically abused his son. In 2014, he was arrested on domestic violence charges while at Oklahoma State and pleaded guilty to abusing and choking former fiancée Crystal Espinal, who was pregnant at the time.
Miami Dolphins No. 1
The Dolphins ranked No. 1 on the NFLPA club report cards released Wednesday, based on a player survey regarding work conditions.
Miami, after being No. 2 last year, took the top spot from the Minnesota Vikings, and the two teams were “far and above ahead of everyone else,” NFLPA president JC Tretter said, according to NFL Network.
“That’s a testament to (owner) Steve Ross, for what he’s built in terms of the facility and people he’s allowed us to hire,” Grier said. “When you have a building like that and you get a survey and you finish top-rated like that, I think that shows just the quality of the people.”
