The New Campbell Trade Deadline Details ... and How the Dolphins Handled Two Veterans

Several teams, it turns out, were interested in Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell at the trade deadline

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) leaves the field after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

That's quite a new twist added to the Calais Campbell story and how close the Miami Dolphins came to moving him at the trade deadline.

It came courtesy of his brother Jared, a comedian and former University of Miami defensive back, appearing as a guest on the podcast of comedian and Dolphins fan Mike Lenoci.

While it already had been reported the Dolphins turned down an offer of a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Baltimore Ravens for the veteran defensive lineman, Jared Campbell elaborated on the discussions that day as relayed to him by his brother.

“There was a bidding war," he said, mentioning the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and, of course, the Ravens as teams that were intersted. "They had nine teams that offered at least a sixth-round pick. … Then there was a bidding war, so then the teams offered a fifth — the 49ers and the Ravens. The [Dolphins] said, ‘Oh, we’ll go with the Ravens. You’re familiar with the team, they look good. You’re good.’ And the 49ers came in last minute and said we’ll give a fourth-round pick for him.”

Head coach Mike McDaniel pretty much later confirmed reports that he stepped in late in the process to make clear that he didn't want the team to trade Campbell, even though the Dolphins were 2-6 at the time, because it would have been a sign of giving up on the season.

"Yes, the offer for compensation for his services was real, and I think it wasn’t like it was (GM Chris Grier) versus me," McDaniel said. "It was more that Chris looks at it the way I do, or we work together, and I may or may not have thrown an adult temper tantrum. (laughter) That’s the tricky thing about Chris’ job is he has to look long-term and short-term at the same time, what’s the best for the organization, and then he also – we rely on each other for things that I need to be on top of, and one of those is the locker room and what one individual does for an entire team. I think it speaks to Calais because that was a strong compensation for a guy that’s – he just passed the 30-year-old mark.

"It speaks to how he’s playing. It speaks to what he means to the team, that teams would be willing to do that, and there was some competition for that. But yeah, my job is to speak on behalf of what’s the best thing for the 2024 Dolphins. I’m just fortunate to work in an organization where myself and the GM can be transparent and work together, and he didn’t want to see any more adult temper tantrums."

Forget Campbell just "passing the 30-year-old mark." He actually turned 38 three months ago, though it's hard to tell from the way he's been playing.

Instead of looking like a player closing out his career, Campbell looks like somebody who could come back again in 2025 and still be productive, though he has indicated he won't make any decision on his future until after this season.

Campbell made it clear he was chasing a ring when he signed a one-year deal with Miami in the offseason, and the possibility does exist that the Dolphins could waive him before the end of the regular season if they're mathematically eliminated from playoff contention to give him that opportunity.

“Calais was prepared to be traded,” Jared Campbell said on the podcast. “Somehow they came to the decision in the final hour before they were like ‘Hey, give us that pick.’ To be like, ‘No, we’re not going to do this.’ Calais was like ‘Man, it made me feel like love. Because if you turn down a fourth-round pick for a 38-year-old guy on an expiring contract, you must really want me.'”

THE COMMON THREAD WITH BARRETT DECISION

While the Dolphins want to do right by their players whenever possible, it's also clear they're looking out for the organization first — as they should.

This was the same philosophy applied when the team declined to activate linebacker Shaquil Barrett off the Reserve/Retired list by the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Thanksgiving Day.

The Dolphins technically still could waive Barrett off that list, but that would mean giving up control of his rights, which they'll have again in 2025 because his contract tolls with a year on the Reserve/Retired list.

So, yeah, sure, the Dolphins could do Barrett a favor and waive him, but there's certainly no benefit to them for 2025 or the rest of 2024 once they decided they'd rather roll with the players who have been on the team since the start of the season.

While it's easy to empathize with Barrett, who lost a 2-year-old daughter in April 2023, it's also fair to point out he did sign a contract with Miami in March 2024 and walked away from the team four months later.

 “In just talking with Chris where our roster is at and the players that have earned the right to be on it, it is just a numbers game in the NFL, so the timing I don’t think was necessarily ideal,” McDaniel said after the Green Bay game on Thanksgiving, two days after news of Barrett wanting to unretire broke.

“We just found out on a day that I had a press conference with you guys, and it was more of that. It wasn’t whether he wanted to play there or here. He knew we had his contractual rights, so it was more of where we are at, and let’s look at our roster.”