Should the Dolphins explore trading for DE Carlos Dunlap?

Long-time Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap may be at the end of the road for his time in Cincinnati. The 31-year old defensive end has played in 154 games in the NFL (all with the Bengals) and has logged 82.5 sacks for his efforts with the team. It’s been on hell of a run. But all good things must come to an end. And it feels like Dunlap’s time with the Bengals may well be up — at least that’s the vibe coming out of Cincinnati as Dunlap clashes with his coaching staff.

Dunlap, ahead of the 2020 trade deadline, made some noise by sharing a portion of the Cincinnati depth chart this week: specifically the sub-package pass rushers that leave Dunlap as a “third-string” designation.

This is a page straight out of the “how to be traded” veteran playbook and it seems as though Dunlap has seen enough of the writing on the wall to want more or something better for the twilight of his career. Could that come courtesy of the Miami Dolphins?

It isn’t likely — as Dunlap would immediately become the second oldest player on the team and he’s quite the costly veteran. Dunlap is under contract through the end of the 2021 season but his base salary for next season will be in excess of $10M; quite a hefty payroll addition for a Dolphins team that has been focused on, at least to this point, keeping long-term flexibility and adding younger talents Dunlap offers Miami neither; so while he’s a player at a position that Miami could feasibly afford some reinforcements, it is a tough sell to find enough dots to connect to suggest Dunlap could be a fit beyond just his skills rushing the passer.

Cincinnati won’t be able to get much for Dunlap at this point, so cost in compensation isn’t the worry here. But adding Dunlap would feel like a philosophical shift from what the last 18 months have had to offer the Dolphins.