Analysis
11/1/22
3 min read
Broncos Trade Pass Rusher Bradley Chubb to Dolphins in Blockbuster
The Denver Broncos traded pass-rusher Bradley Chubb to the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday, ESPN reported. The Dolphins are sending the Broncos running back Chase Edmonds, a 2023 first-round pick they acquired from the San Francisco 49ers and 2024 fourth-round pick.
"Chubb is a very good player and worth what they gave if healthy," said analyst Joe Banner of The 33rd Team. "The problem for me is that betting on both Chubb and Tua Tagovailoa — two of their better players — staying completely healthy is a long shot. Chubb has missed 22 games in the last three years. That’s more than seven per year. Taking injury risk on some selective players isn’t crazy, but doing it on both of your best players is very dangerous."
Chubb, who is in the last year of his contract, is expected to work out a long-term deal with the Dolphins, ESPN reported. Chubb is playing 2022 on his fifth-year option, so if the two sides can't come to an agreement, Miami would have to use the franchise tag. The franchise tag for linebackers is projected to be about $17.5 million dollars.
Miami is now without a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after having two to start the season. The NFL stripped the Dolphins of their own first-round pick as punishment for tampering allegations this summer, and now they've traded their other to the Broncos.
Chubb has 5.5 sacks this season but hasn't produced consistently during his five-year career. He missed most of 2019 with a torn ACL and more than half of 2021 with an ankle injury while recording zero sacks in the seven games he did play. However, Chubb did post 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018 and 7.5 sacks in 2020.
Miami adds Chubb to a pass rush that already included former first-round pick Jaelan Phillips, Melvin Ingram, Emmanuel Ogbah and Trey Flowers. The team signed Ingram and Flowers as free agents while giving Ogbah a contract extension this summer.
Chubb's 5.5 sacks will rank as the Dolphins' highest mark this season with Phillips' three sacks ranking second.
While the Dolphins (5-3) are making a push for the playoffs, the Broncos (3-5) are starting to look ahead to the 2023 NFL Draft. Denver has struggled on offense with new quarterback Russell Wilson, but their defense has allowed just 16.5 points per game this season.
They still have talented pass rushers including Randy Gregory, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning and Jonathan Cooper to fill Chubb's shoes this season.
Analyst Bill Polian of the 33rd Team is especially bullish on Browning's potential to step in.
"Browning, who they thought might be an inside linebacker, has shown that he can be a dynamic outside linebacker," Polian said.
The opportunity is there if Browning can reach out and seize it.
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