Dolphins trade rumors also include potential for adding ‘big-name corner’

Over the last few days, there has been a lot of focus on the Miami Dolphins potentially trading left tackle Branden Albert, having informed him on Thursday they would be releasing him only to pause the move as at least one team has shown interest in working out a deal to acquire Albert without him hitting the free agent market. The Jacksonville Jaguars appear to be at least interested in a deal, though they may or may not be the only team involved in possible talks with Miami, and there has at least been a suggestion that a trade with the Jaguars could include tight end Julius Thomas heading south on I-95 to Miami while Albert moves north to Jacksonville.

According to a report last week from the Miami Herald’s Adam Beasley, that is not the only direction Miami is looking for potential trade partners this offseason. As Beasley writes:

Stop us if you’ve heard this before:

The Dolphins get a head-start on free agency by trading for a big-name corner...

People familiar with the Dolphins’ thinking say that the team has considered again trading for a starting cornerback, as the organization did last year. Then, it was Byron Maxwell who ended up in aqua and orange.

Beasley suggests two possible cornerback targets could be the Denver Broncos’ Aqib Talib and the Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman. There has not been any indication that talks have happened for either of those targets, but they could make sense, at least on Miami’s end, as Talib was with the Broncos when Miami head coach Adam Gase served as Denver’s offensive coordinator, and the Dolphins’ defensive system utilizes the same style as Seattle’s, making Sherman a fit.

Dolphins Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum is not afraid of making big moves in the offseason and during the Draft. Last year’s move to bring Maxwell, along with linebacker Kiko Alons, to Miami from the Philadelphia Eagles appears to have been a successful deal for the Dolphins. Can he make it two-for-two in trading for a starting cornerback? Does Miami even need to make that kind of move, given the presence of second-year cornerback Xavien Howard and third-year corner Tony Lippett? How would nickel cornerback Bobby McCain fit into the playing time puzzle?