More Details on the Near-Campbell Trade

Head coach Mike McDaniel reportedly played a large role in the Miami Dolphins keeping Calais Campbell for the second half of the 2024 season.

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) enters the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Turns out the Miami Dolphins were even closer to trading Calais Campell three weeks ago than initially reported.

The Dolphins actually even had a deal in place and Campbell himself believed he was going back to the Baltimore Ravens until head coach Mike McDaniel nixed the deal, according to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport.

The Dolphins were 2-6 at the trade deadline, but McDaniel believed in his team's ability to make a run and valued Campbell too much to send him away from what Rapoport reported would have been a 2026 fifth-round pick.

From a compensation standpoint, this was an absolute no-brainer because a fifth-round pick in two drafts along with the ability to save a little bit of money — somewhere around $1 million based on Campbell's relatively light contract is nothing for a player who's been as good as Campbell has been.

McDaniel certainly has been proven right so far in his belief that the team could starting winning some games because the Dolphins are 2-0 since the trade deadline, with victories against the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders.

It would assume obvious that McDaniel's belief in his team, which pretty much always is there, was only reinforced in that Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills because even though it was yet another loss at Highmark Stadium, the Dolphins played an even game against one of the best teams in the NFL.

And if the Dolphins somehow manage to pull off their great comeback and earn a playoff spot, we will look back at McDaniel's decision to nix the Campbell trade and that loss against Buffalo as turning points.

THE DOLPHINS POWER STRUCTURE

Rapoport's report also reinforces the idea that the Dolphins operate collaboratively as an organization in terms of making personnel decisions rather than a strong GM calling the shots.

If McDaniel can have that kind of sway — regardless of how anyone feels about the decision to nix the trade — then it's pretty clear he's got a say in other decisions.

And let's not forget that McDaniel got a contract extension this summer, this despite having two years left on his contract, and the idea that he was given some kind of personnel control or decision-making ability certainly can't be dismissed.

However it shook out, the decision to keep Campbell is looking good for the Dolphins right now.

Campbell was perhaps their best player through the first eight games of 2024, this after he decided to sign with the team and continue his career at the age of 38 for a chance to chase that elusive Super Bowl title.

That Campbell is doing so in the city where he played his college football — a UM alum — was a bonus, but the championship was the thing for him, and the Ravens clearly would offer a better chance of doing this now.

Trading Campbell, even to give him a solid if this indeed will be his last NFL season, would have been a classy thing to do, but it also would have signaled the team was giving up on the 2024 season. And they're not about to do that with nine games left.

Ultimately, the Dolphins decided against moving with Campbell because having him in the lineup clearly continues to give them a better chance to win.