Reports: Dolphins Trading for Shaheen

The Miami Dolphins bolstered their tight end corps with the reported trade for former Chicago Bears draft pick Adam Shaheen

After staying relatively pat at tight end in the offseason, the Dolphins apparently are making a move.

The Dolphins will be acquiring Adam Shaheen from the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports.

The #Bears are trading TE Adam Shaheen to the #Dolphins, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 25, 2020

In exchange, the Dolphins will be sending Chicago a late-round pick. Pro Football Talk is reporting that it's a conditional sixth-round pick.

It's a good gamble for a former second-round pick who has yet to deliver in the NFL, although injuries have been a factor.

Shaheen (6-6, 257) played 27 games in his first three NFL seasons with the Bears after being drafted out of Division II Ashland and made 13 starts. He has 26 career receptions for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

Isaiah J. Downing-USA Today Sports

His most productive season was his first, as he caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three scores.

Pro Football Focus provided these metrics on Shaheen: "He has caught 29 of 36 targets with 0 drops in his 3 year career, and earned a career high 70.6 pass blocking grade in 2019."

This is what Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote about the trade from the Bears' perspective:

"That the team got anything in return for Shaheen is a surprise. He appeared to have little chance of making the roster this season and was set to cost the Bears $1.9 million salary-cap space.

He’ll go down as one of the worst draft picks of general manager Ryan Pace’s career. He chose Shaheen 45th overall — it was the same year he traded up to take Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 — and he never proved to be an NFL-caliber player. When he wasn’t injured, he was ineffective."

This was Shaheen's NFL.com bio when he came out for the 2017 NFL draft:

"Talk about a Cinderella story. Shaheen was an all-conference pick in basketball and football in Galena, Ohio, and signed with Division II Pittsburgh-Johnstown to play hoops (5.5 pts, 3.1 reb per game in 2013-2014). He then transferred to Ashland to play football, which turned out to be the right move. Shaheen caught two passes for 85 yards as the team's No. 3 tight end in 2014. He then took over the starting job the next year, catching 70 passes (for 803 yards and 10 TDs), a Division II record for tight ends. The two-time AFCA All-American and first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference pick had another great year in 2016, setting a school record with 16 touchdowns among his 57 receptions for 867 yards."

His NFL comparison at the time was current Steelers tight end Vance McDonald, and his projection was a "good backup who could become starter."

This was the NFL.com overview by draft analyst Lance Zierlein: "Big, fast and athletic, Shaheen will immediately interest teams who are looking for size and traits. He's a poorer blocker than what might be expected for a player with his frame, but he's also a much more dangerous pass catching target. The jump in competition will be substantial and teams will expect him to become a more consistent blocker, but he's a pass catching tight end in a Y-tight end's body. Shaheen has starting potential with an ability to impact a passing game early in his career."

Shaheen becomes the sixth tight end on the Dolphins roster, joining Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe, Michael Roberts, Chris Myarick and rookie free agent Bryce Sterk.

Gesicki would appear to be the only lock to make the active roster based on his strong finish in 2019.

Smythe actually started the most games (11) of anybody on the roster last season, but his offensive contributions were minimal.

Roberts has NFL experience but he didn't play at all last year because of shoulder problems, and Myarick has no regular season experience after spending his entire rookie season on the practice squad.