It appeared to be a straight up trade, but after a couple of days negotiations, Julius Thomas and Brandon Albert will switch teams through different trade routes. The first move came Monday when Thomas was shipped from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a seventh round pick.
TE Julius Thomas had his best stint under #Broncos OC Adam Gase. Now, Thomas will be back with Gase with the #Dolphins. Mutually beneficial
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 20, 2017
The Dolphins are expected to finalize a separate trade Tuesday, sending Albert to Jacksonville. Albert is expendable this season after Miami drafted Laremy Tunsil out of Ole Miss in the April 2016 draft. The plan is to move Tunsil over from left guard to tackle for the 2017 season.
After a couple of huge touchdown production seasons with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, Thomas fled to Jacksonville on a five-year, $46 million contract with $24 million guaranteed. Thomas hasn’t lived up to that figure in the slightest, playing in just 21 games over the last two seasons and catching a total of 76 passes for 736 yards and nine touchdowns. In 2013 alone in Denver, Thomas caught 65 passes for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Tentative terms: Miami sending a 2017 7th-rounder to Jax for TE Julius Thomas. Jax sending 2018 7th-rounder to Miami for OT Branden Albert.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 20, 2017
The trade puts Thomas back with his former offensive coordinator, Adam Gase, and gives Ryan Tannehill one more weapon to use as the Dolphins try to take the next step to actually contending for the AFC East. Of course, Tannehill is a far cry from 2014 Peyton Manning, but Gase undoubtedly knows how to use Thomas’ skillset and Tannehill could use one more weapon in his arsenal, especially in the red zone.
The deal sending Albert to Jacksonville for a late-round pick (probably a seventh as well) is expected to be finalized Tuesday. Albert was nearly cut by the Dolphins before teams inquired about a possible trade to keep the starting left tackle off the market. Albert’s signing was a Joe Philbin move, with the team giving Albert a five-year, $47 million deal back in 2014.
Moving Albert will give the Dolphins $7.2 million in additional salary cap space. Jacksonville is the market for a new left tackle since they didn’t pick up starter Kevin Beacham’s option and set him loose as a free agent.
Jaguars cut Jared Odrick
In another salary cap-shaving move, the Jaguars are planning to cut defensive tackle Jared Odrick. Ironically, Odrick signed with the Jags from the Dolphins back in 2015, nabbing a five-year, $42.5 million contract in the process.
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Jacksonville will get to add $8.5 million to its free agent pot with the move. The 29-year-old Odrick was hurt most of last season and finished with just 12 tackles and one sack.
Teams adding intriguing free agents
The new league hasn’t started yet, but some teams aren’t content to rest on their laurels. Yes, I just used the word “laurels” because I’m fancy.
The Green Bay Packers signed cornerback Ben Benwikere, who bounced around all over the NFL last season after screwing up his offseason conditioning. He never got in game shape and after spending two seasons as the Carolina Panthers’ nickle corner, blew his chance at making it three. As long as Benwikere has stayed in the weight room and treadmill and away from the buffet table, this could be a solid pick up for the Pack.
The Dallas Cowboys brought back offensive guard Ryan Seymour, who they just cut a month and a half ago. Seymour was added midseason for depth on the offensive line for the final game of the season and playoffs. Evidently the Cowboys liked what they saw, bringing Seymour back to conceivably go through their entire offseason program. Seymour was originally a seventh round pick of the Seattle Seahawks back in 2013 out of Vanderbilt.
The New England Patriots have added another Gronk to their roster, signing Rob’s brother Glenn, who floated around their practice squad for most of last season. Gronkowski started the opening game of the season for the Buffalo Bills last season but was cut the day after. Glenn is the fourth Gronkowski brother to play in an NFL game. In addition to Rob, brother Dan Gronkowski played tight end in the NFL from 2009-2013. Brother Chris was a fullback from 2010-2013.
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