NFL Trade Rumors: Kenyan Drake drawing interest?

The annual NFL trade deadline is 4pm ET the Tuesday after Week 8 of the regular season. This year, that falls on October 29, giving us just five days before all trades must be completed or will have to wait until the start of the new league year in March. Traditionally, the NFL trade deadline has been a quiet affair, with little movement around the league; however, that seems to have changed over the last few years, with more and more deals being made. Could the Miami Dolphins, who would likely be more seller than buyer this year, get into the mix?

If the rumors are accurate, the Dolphins have at least one piece that could move over the next few days: running back Kenyan Drake. Multiple sources have discussed the possibility of Drake being moved, with the Detroit Lions sounding like the most likely destination. The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero has written “The Dolphins continue to engage multiple teams interested in trading for running back Kenyan Drake.” He adds that the team “fielded more calls about Drake than they had at any time previously” over the past week and that “the attention on the matter has made it more likely the team moves on Drake before the October 29 trade deadline.”

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport also reports the Dolphins have had trade talks with teams and would consider moving their 2016 third-round draft pick.

The Dolphins are not looking to trade Drake. They will be perfectly happy keeping him on the roster - but they also were not looking to trade Laremy Tunsil and were perfectly happy keeping him on the roster. If a team is willing to pay the price Miami would want in return for Drake, who is on the final year of his rookie contract, then the team would likely make that trade.

What the price is, however, is unclear. Likely a later-round 2020 NFL Draft pick would be involved, though Miami could look to hold out for a mid-round pick. If Drake were to hit free agency next spring, a likelihood given no contract extension talks have started, Miami could look to bet on Drake’s contract and play with a new team would warrant a mid-round compensatory pick in 2021.

The Lions seem like a place where Drake could immediately fill a hole. They placed running back Kerryon Johnson on injured reserve earlier this week. They could be looking for a plug-and-play running back who can both carry the ball as well as be a threat in the passing game. Drake would check the boxes next to all of those needs.

Detroit promoted running back Paul Perkins to from their practice squad to provide depth

The Dolphins have ties to the Lions given the coaching staffs for both clubs are branches of the coaching tree of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Drake has not asked for a trade, and the Dolphins are not going out of their way to move the running back. But, the rumors are swirling and it feels like something could happen.