Recapping the Vontae Davis Trade

By now, most people were able to sleep off their initial reactions to the Vontae Davis trade. Before the weekend came, Davis was an immature CB that was inconsistent, lost his starting job, and was accused of having his GPS taking him down Bust Avenue instead of Star Drive. Now, Davis is some hot CB that Miami lost in a shaft of a trade. Man, this front office just can't do anything right. First, they select a CB that was viewed to have enormous potential, but maturity issues. Strike one! Second, Davis was quickly losing respect in 2011 and 2012 because of issues such as inconsistency, maturity, and arriving to camp out of shape. Strike two! Finally, Miami traded Davis for a second-round pick and a conditional late rounder. Strike three, you're out! Miami just came into the batter's box with an umpire that refuses to call a ball. There was no right move for this front office to make. Miami probably could've saved themselves from that third strike had the second round pick been a WR named Reggie Wayne, but that would only delay that third strike for a year or two until Wayne retired. After all, trading a CB heading into his prime at the age of 24 for a WR that will be 34 in three months rarely turns into a good deal. The short sightedness of fans prevents them from recognizing that trading Davis for a second-round pick is much a much better deal than trading him for a 34 year-old WR.

Miami probably could've saved themselves from that third strike had the second round pick been a WR named Reggie Wayne, but that would only delay that third strike for a year or two until Wayne retired. After all, trading a CB heading into his prime at the age of 24 for a WR that will be 34 in three months rarely turns into a good deal. The short sightedness of fans prevents them from recognizing that trading Davis for a second-round pick is much a much better deal than trading him for a 34 year-old WR.

Many people here now how much I'm a fan of Vontae. I recognize that he was one of the better cornerbacks in the second half of the 2011 season. I have put faith in Vontae's abilities, even though he's known as a zone CB playing in a new scheme that focuses on man coverage. I glowingly compared his abilities, performance, and scouting to a similar CB in Leon Hall of the Bengals.

I recognize Miami's secondary may have become a little weaker. I recognize Miami's depth at CB is particularly thin now even though Davis lost his starting position. I recognize Davis is still an athletically gifted CB that can have a very bright future if he gets his act together. But I also recognize that Davis didn't show that same top level performances this preseason that he did in the end of 2011. I also recognize that Nolan Carroll has done pretty well thus far while Davis has struggled. Finally, I recognize that trading Davis probably didn't cost Miami any wins in 2012.

So far, some are reacting like Miami just lost a star. Some of these people are the same ones that criticize Davis, even suggesting he should change positions. Am I excited about this trade? Not terribly exciting. This isn't an exciting trade like the Bears getting Brandon Marshall or as exciting as Asante Samuel being sent to the Falcons. But I don't think this is a bad trade either. This isn't one of those terrible desperation moves like Miami made when they sent a third-round pick to the Rams for Lamar Gordon. This wasn't a lopsided trade when Miami sent a third-round pick along with the blossoming Adewale Ogunleye for Marty Booker when he was on the downslope of his career. No, this was probably a fair trade that served the Colts and Dolphins equally.

Davis understandably faced scrutiny for a myriad of issues, mostly for his maturity and questions if he would still be suitable for Miami in their new defense. The Colts will probably immediately plug Davis into the starting lineup as their top CB. As much as people may want to criticize the trade, teams are generally fortunate if they can get a second-round pick for a backup player. Right now, I would trade almost every backup player on Miami's roster for a second or third-round pick. It's even better that Miami received the pick from the Colts. It's not like we're talking about Davis being traded to the Patriots, where the pick would almost assuredly be near the end of the round. No, we're talking about a pick that will likely be in the top 40. As much as I am an ardent support of Davis and his abilities, I recognize that Miami got a pretty good deal in this trade. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the trade is that many wanted to deny what most believed to be the case, and that is simply that Miami is in the midst of a rebuild.