Le'Veon Bell to the Dolphins? Interesting But Unlikely

New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell reportedly has asked to be traded and an ESPN analyst threw out one scenario involving the Miami Dolphins

Le'Veon Bell in a Miami Dolphins uniform?

Sure sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Well, the New York Jets reportedly are shopping the running back in large part because of his fractured relationship with head coach Adam Gase, who Dolphins fans obviously remember well.

BREAKING: Jets are trying to trade Le’Veon Bell, per sources.

Details: https://t.co/MRjiSFRxTa pic.twitter.com/KsISp3Wq4n

— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaSports) October 13, 2020

ESPN NFL prognosticator Mike Clay decided to play matchmaker on Twitter and "connected the dots" on several possible trades involving Bell. One of them was a deal for Dolphins receiver/returner Jakeem Grant.

Just some fun dot-connecting (some better than others), so don't get mad:

-Bell for AJG, J Ross or A Tate
-Bell and Herndon for Evan Engram
-Bell for Chris Conley (or Dede)
-Bell for Jakeem Grant
-Bell for Alshon (Ertz jk)
-Bell for Pettis
-Bell for Haskins
-Bell to KC or LV?

— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) October 13, 2020

SI NFL reporter Albert Breer reported that the Jets are looking for a late-round pick or a "back-end player" in exchange for Bell, who's in his second season with the Jets.

Bell was perhaps the best all-around running back in the NFL before he sat out the entire 2018 season in the midst of a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bell has produced pedestrian stats since he joined the Jets in 2019, but he obviously hasn't gotten much help from his supporting cast in New York.

It also should be noted that Bell is only 28 and the possibility certainly does exist for him to become an elite back again under the right circumstances.

Grant is not off to a great start in his fifth season with the Dolphins. He has nine catches in five games and is coming off an outing against the 49ers where he dropped a third-down pass and muffed a punt, causing the Dolphins to have to start a drive at their 5-yard line after he fell on the loose ball.

Grant has been a very good kick returner for the Dolphins, but he doesn't have a return longer than 19 yards this season.

The biggest obstacle to any deal involving Bell, of course, is his salary.

Bell is making $8.5 million in base salary this season, according to overthecap.com, and has two years remaining on his deal beyond that.

Grant is making $3.78 million in base salary in 2020 and has three left on his contract after that.

Of course, another factor involved in Clay's hypothetical scenario would be the Jets' willingness to trade within the division. The last time the Dolphins and Jets made a trade involving a player was in 1966 when the Dolphins acquired right tackle James Brown for a draft pick.

A Bell-for-Grant trade from a pure football standpoint obviously would benefit the Dolphins — even if they had to throw in a late-round pick.

Yes, second-year running back Myles Gaskin has been a nice story, but no one would argue that Bell would not represent an upgrade at the position.

The question is whether the Dolphins would be willing to make the financial commitment — even for just this season. There's also the issue of whether Bell, who now has had problems with two franchises, would fit into the overall big picture of a young Dolphins team that certainly appears headed in the right direction.

The best guess is there's very little chance of this happening, but it's certainly an intriguing thought nonetheless.