Miami Dolphins Trade Cornerback Vontae Davis to Indianapolis Colts

The rumors started Thursday night on Twitter. We then followed up on it Friday morning. It took until Sunday however for the Miami Dolphins to trade Vontae Davis to the Indianapolis Colts. Initial reports of the trade are that the Dolphins are receiving a second round pick in return for their 2009 first round selection, and possibly a player.

For all who've been trying to find out Colts trade, I'm reporting the Colts have agreed to a trade for Fins CB Vontae Davis for 2nd rd pick

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) August 26, 2012

Davis has all the skills a first round cornerback could need in the NFL. But, at age 24, he still has a lot of maturing to do. He reported to camp out of shape in 2011, resulting in cramps suffered in the first game of the season, and ultimately a hamstring injury that he could not shake throughout the year.

He again reported to camp out of shape this year, losing his starting job to free agent acquisition Richard Marshall. Davis was seen as lacking focus throughout training camp, and, while HBO's Hard Knocks showed improvement over the past week, it apparently was too little too late for the Miami coaching staff.

Davis was also suspended twice during Tony Sparano's regime, once missing an entire game for violation of team rules (showing up hungover to a practice), and once for the first quarter of a game.

When Davis was drafted in the first round, he was seen as a talented cornerback, but needed time to mature. Miami took him and cornerback Sean Smith with their first and second round selections, looking to turn them into a duo like Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain. Smith has apparently developed over the past thee years, and is ready to take the next step this season. Davis leave Miami with the exact same concerns as when he was drafted.

As trade reactions continue to swirl around the internet, the apparent belief around the NFL on why the Dolphins would make this trade is:

Just heard from a league source today that #Dolphins were sniffing around a trade with Vontae. Team has been impressed with Nolan Carroll

— Ben Volin (@BenVolinPBP) August 26, 2012

Of course, fans are going to react with ire to this, because Carroll has struggled at times during his career with the Dolphins. But, he, like Smith, could be read to take that next step - something Davis clearly was not. The trade will also give ammunition to people who blame general manager Jeff Ireland for all of the wrongs with the Dolphins, seeing him trade away a 2009 firs round pick he made, trying to "correct" his own mistakes.

Either way, the Dolphins have given up on Davis, and are ready to move on. The team is clearly in rebuild mode, with multiple second and third round picks for 2013 now. The team appears ready to build around rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill, looking more toward the future than they are looking at today.

Davis' trade knocks the Dolphins' roster down from 78 to 77, meaning the team has to release two more players between now and 4pm eastern tomorrow to make it to the 75 player roster size.

[UPDATE: 2:35pm Eastern] The Dolphins have released the following tweet:

Dolphins announce trade of CB Vontae Davis to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for two undisclosed draft choices.

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 26, 2012

Reports are that the "undisclosed" picks are a second and a conditional sixth.