Mike McDaniel Downplays Jonathan Taylor Trade Rumors
Yesterday, I wrote a post detailing why trading for Jonathan Taylor would be a disastrous decision for the Miami Dolphins. Today, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel downplayed those same rumors. Technically, he has to do that because Taylor isn’t on the roster. However, his wording was very interesting.
“Here’s the thing with reports,” McDaniel said, according to Adam Beasley of Pro Football Network. “First of all, I think my 2.5-year-old daughter just tweeted a report. … She said that every player in the National Football League is coming to the Dolphins.”
“I’ve said this before: I’m not going to speak about other players,” McDaniel added. “And how many times do I have to explain that (general manager) Chris Grier’s job is to work? He works at it a lot. … There’s been a consistent pattern where we’ve talked about all sorts of players, so reports, whatever, it seems like the noise is around the business.”
He is right about one thing. The rumor mill does become out of control sometimes. Just because Chris Grier made a phone call, doesn’t mean that a trade is happening tomorrow. McDaniel has to just coach the players that are currently on the roster. He’s a play design guy at heart. It’s hard to draw up plays for guys that aren’t on the team.
The Dolphins also have a pretty solid stable of back. Raheem Moster, Jeff Wilson, and Devon Achane is a pretty solid trio. Not saying you can’t do better but extending Christian Wilkins needs to be the first order of business in Miami.
Also, Miami ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing attempts per game last year. You would think that number would be higher but it wasn’t. Why would the Dolphins give up picks and pay Taylor an outrageous salary when they already don’t run the football enough? If McDaniel has anything to worry about, how about we start by running the ball more and protecting the quarterback who has head trauma?
