Dolphins Officially Trade LT Branden Albert To Jaguars For 2018 Seventh-Round Pick

Update:

The Dolphins officially traded LT Branden Albert to the Jaguars for a 2018 seventh-round pick.

We have traded tackle Branden Albert to Jacksonville in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) March 9, 2017

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Dolphins LT Branden Albert plans to stay the night in Jacksonville and have dinner with the Jaguar’s brass. According to Rapoport, as long as everything goes well, the expectation is that they’ll pick up contract talks again on Tuesday.

• Armando Salguero reports that the Jaguars and Dolphins are “still in talks” regarding a trade that would send Albert to Jacksonville in return for a 2018 late-round pick. Salguero adds that the trade is believed to be close.
• Albert Breer says that the Dolphins will receive a 2018 seventh-round pick from the Jaguars for Albert.

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Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, citing a league source, reports that the Dolphins and Jaguars have agreed to a trade that would send LT Branden Albert to the Jaguars in return for a 2018 late-round pick.

Instead, Salguero says that this deal would most likely send a seventh-round pick to the Dolphins for Albert. However, a deal isn’t complete just yet.

The Dolphins will allow Albert’s representation to speak with the Jaguars about his contract status and will allow him to meet with the team. Salguero says that there’s a good chance the Jaguars will not only take on Albert’s contract, but could even extend his deal in order to give him more financial security.

While other reports have said that this trade would swap Albert for Jaguars TE Julius Thomas, Salguero mentions that Thomas isn’t currently part of the trade. Although, he admits that Thomas is a player the Dolphins would be interested in.

Ian Rapoport confirms the news and mentions that his understanding of the situation is that the Thomas part of the trade broke, at least for now, over what his new contract with the Dolphins would be. Even so, Rapoport says that there’s still time to figure things out.

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Media confirms that the Dolphins have had trade discussions with the Jaguars about a potential Branden Albert-for-Julius Thomas trade. However, obstacles still remain with this possible trade including the contracts for each player.

• According to Rapoport, Albert is visiting with the Jaguars on Monday to help facilitate a trade between the Jaguars and Dolphins.
• Rapoport mentions that if both Albert and Thomas were to agree to new contracts, a trade would be considered likely.
• Thomas may be willing to accept a slight reduction in pay for the 2017 season while Albert may actually get more compensation as part of this deal, per Rapoport.

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Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel is reporting that the Dolphins and Jaguars are working to finalize a trade that would send LT Branden Albert to the Jaguars in return for TE Julius Thomas.

According to Kelly, the trade could be contingent upon Albert and Thomas both agreeing to restructure their current contracts and passing physicals for their new team.

Multiple sources have told Kelly that all of the parties involved are willing to participants.

Albert, himself, told Kelly that he believes where he’s going will end up being “the right fit for him.

“Why ruffle feathers when you don’t have to?” Albert said when asked about the potential trade to the Jaguars. “It’s the business of the game. I honestly believe where I’m going to go is the right fit. It is going to be a surprise when [the terms] comes out.

Armando Salguero first reported that the Dolphins were working on a trade with the Jaguars for Albert and Thomas could be included in the deal. However, Salguero did say that the Dolphins’ preference would be to get draft compensation in return for Albert.

Trade options surfaced after reports had said that the Dolphins were prepared to release him a few days ago.

Albert, 32, is a former first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2008. He spent six years in Kansas City before signing a five-year, $46 million contract with $25 million guaranteed with the Dolphins back in 2014. He was set to make a base salary of $8.875 million for the 2017 season.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Albert will free up $7.2million of available cap space while creating $3.4 million in dead money.

In 2016, Albert appeared in 12 games and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 65 offensive tackle out of 78 qualifying players.

Thomas, 28, is a former fourth-round pick by the Broncos in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is entering the third year of his five-year, $46 million contract that included $24 million guaranteed.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Thomas would free up $4.7 million of available cap space while creating $3.6 million in dead money.

In 2016, Thomas appeared in nine games for the Jaguars and recorded 30 receptions for 281 yards receiving and four touchdowns. ProFootballFocus has him rated as the No. 28 overall tight end out of 63 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding a potential trade between the Jaguars and Dolphins as the news is available.