Fallout from Steelers-Dolphins blockbuster trade, plus Miami acquires retired tight end from Giants

Whenever there’s a blockbuster trade in the NFL, there’s always some winners and losers, and this trade was no different. Tyler Sullivan came up with a few winners and a few losers and we’re going to check out some of the names who made his list. 

WINNERS

• Aaron Rodgers. “Not only does Rodgers get a dynamic pass catcher in Jonnu Smith, but the veteran tight end should be able to hit the ground running with his new team and quarterback, thanks to his familiarity with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.”
• Storm Duck. “With Ramsey out the door, the Dolphins will need someone to step up in the cornerback room. His departure (and starting job) could give 2024 undrafted free agent Storm Duck an opportunity to establish himself as a possible starter in the league.”

LOSERS

• The rest of the AFC North. “The Pittsburgh Steelers are seemingly getting better by the day as we inch closer to training camp, which is bad news for the rest of the AFC North. Over the last month or so, they’ve added a future Hall of Fame quarterback and just now traded for a top corner and dynamic tight end to bolster the rest of the roster. Clearly, the Steelers are planning to be serious contenders in 2025.”
• Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel. “Jonnu Smith had proven to be one of the more dynamic pieces of the Dolphins’ offense in 2024. The veteran was unlocked within McDaniel’s offense, notching career highs in receptions and receiving yards along with matching his career-best with eight touchdown receptions. Now that piece has been subtracted. All of those now put a tremendous amount of pressure on McDaniel, who is coming off his first under .500 season with the Dolphins, who were also on the outside looking in on the playoffs. We already listed McDaniel as a head coach with one of the hottest seats in the NFL entering 2025, and the road to save his job just got even more difficult.”

You can check out Sullivan’s full list of winners and losers here. 

2. Miami makes ANOTHER trade: Dolphins swing deal for retired tight end

The Dolphins made an interesting decision on Monday when it comes to trading Jonnu Smith and that’s because they DON’T HAVE ANYONE TO TAKE HIS PLACE. Smith led the team in receptions last season and finished with the second most receiving yards. He was a solid fit for Mike McDaniel’s offense, but now, he’s gone. 

With Smith no longer in Miami, the Dolphins decided to take a look around on the trade market to see if they could find a player and they found their guy on Tuesday by acquiring Darren Waller from the Giants. 

Here are the details of the trade: 

• Dolphins get: Darren Waller, 2027 seventh-round pick
• Giants get: Conditional 2026 sixth-round pick

Here are two things to know: 

• Waller was actually in retirement. The former Raiders tight end didn’t play a single snap in 2024 and that’s because he was retired. Back in mid-June, he revealed why he decided to retire and it basically boiled down to the fact that he didn’t like the way the Giants were using him during the 2023 season (You can read his full explanation here). 
• Waller might put up huge numbers in Miami’s offense. Smith caught 88 passes for the Dolphins last season, which led the team. In 2023, Waller caught 52 passes, despite only playing in 12 games. In 2020, Waller caught 107 passes for the Raiders, making him one of just eight tight ends in NFL history to catch at least 105 passes in a season. 

Although Waller sat out a year, he’s only 32 years old, so it will be interesting to see if he has anything left in the tank.

Want to know who got the best of this deal? Check out Cody Benjamin’s grades right here.

3. Steelers trade fallout: What’s Pittsburgh’s plan at safety?

Although the Steelers acquired two solid players on Monday with the additions of Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith, they now have a gaping hole at safety after giving up Minkah Fitzpatrick.

With Fitzpatrick now in Miami, the Steelers could look to replace him with Juan Thornhill, who’s already on the roster. The veteran safety signed with the Steelers in March just days after being released by the Browns. Although Thornhill has six NFL seasons of experience under his belt, he struggled some with the Browns and he’d be a definite downgrade from Fitzpatrick. 

If the Steelers aren’t comfortable with making Thornhill the starter, they could look at add a free agent. Here are three potential options: 

1. Justin Simmons
2. Julian Blackmon
3. Marcus Williams 

I’ve got a full breakdown of why each of these guys would make sense for the Steelers and you can check that out here. 

If they don’t want to go the free agency route, Jeff Kerr came up with a few other ideas. 

• Move one of their corners to safety. “The Steelers have three starting cornerbacks in Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. If the Steelers want to get all three of their cornerbacks on the field, Ramsey will have to be the one that moves to safety. Darius Slay is a 34-year-old who’s biggest strength is at outside cornerback in a base or nickel defense. Joey Porter Jr. played boundary cornerback at Penn State and has continued this role in Pittsburgh, so moving him inside or to safety isn’t an option.”
• Put Ramsey at slot corner. “Slot cornerbacks have the hardest job and are usually the better players in coverage. That title would go to Ramsey, so who plays safety? Thornhill will have one of those starting jobs, and Ramsey’s former teammate in Miami — DeShon Elliott — would be the front runner for the other starting job.”

Kerr took a close look at what the Steelers might do in their secondary and we’ve got that here. 

4. T.J. Watt rumors: Multiple teams have inquired about star pass rusher’s trade availability

When the Steelers added Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith on Monday, both players were given a raise. Ramsey got $1.5 million added to his salary while Smith was given a one-year, $12 million contract extension. Basically, the Steelers are paying everyone, except for T.J. Watt, and that could create some drama in Pittsburgh. 

According to ESPN.com, multiple teams have been discussing “whether they can trade for” Watt, who skipped mandatory minicamp due to his contract situation. The Steelers haven’t given any indication that they plan on trading Watt, but with things getting uglier by the day, Cody Benjamin thought it would make sense to come up with a few possible landing spots for Pittsburgh’s disgruntled star. 

Here are three teams that might want to call the Steelers to see if Watt is available: 

• Lions. “Aidan Hutchinson might be one of the best young pass rushers in the NFL. But Detroit has been sniffing around upgrades opposite Hutchinson for a while … The Lions are flush with 2025 salary cap space, possessing north of $40 million that could help accommodate Watt’s immediate financial desires and further confirm them as one of the most talented rosters in all of football.”
• Commanders. “This is a franchise focused on winning now, as evidenced by other offseason trades, and why not fork over big bucks to Watt while you have Jayden Daniels on a rookie deal?”
• Packers. “The Packers aren’t necessarily in dire need of a pass rusher with Rashan Gary headlining their group, but with Lukas Van Ness coming along slowly, why would they turn down a perennial All-Pro as they look to make a leap as a playoff contender?”

We actually came up with five landing spots and you can check out the full list here. 

5. Steelers All-Quarter Century Team

With the Steelers dominating the news over the past 24 hours, now seems like a good time to unveil their All-Quarter Century Team. 

Any player who played for the Steelers since 2000 was eligible to make crack our All-Quarter Century roster. We put Bryan DeArdo in charge of deciding which players should make this team and here are a few of the stars who made his list: 

QB: Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Jerome Bettis
RB: Le’Veon Bell
WR: Hines Ward
WR: Antonio Brown
TE: Heath Miller

Our Steelers All-Quarter Century Team features a total of 53 players, and if you want to see the full roster, you can do that here. 

6. Extra points: New Browns stadium almost a done deal

While not the busiest time in the NFL, there’s still a lot happening, so I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Ohio governor approves funding for Browns’ new stadium. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine officially signed off on the state budget Monday night, which is huge news for the Browns, because the budget includes $600 million in public money for the team’s new proposed stadium in Brook Park. The Browns spent $76 million to purchase the land for the new stadium last week, so the table is set for the team to get a new stadium in the very near future. The Browns recently released a video of what the new stadium will look like and you can check that out here. 
• Buccaneers Creamsicle uniforms are coming back. The Bucs will be wearing their popular Creamsicle uniform in prime time this year. The team has announced that they’ll only be wearing the orange jerseys for one game and that will come in Week 15 when they host the Falcons in a Thursday night game. 
• Saquon Barkley was shunned by three NFC East teams during free agency. When Barkley hit free agency last year, the Eagles were the only team in the NFC that showed interest. The running back said he didn’t receive a single phone call from the Cowboys or Commanders. And of course, the Giants were the ones that let him go. In the end, Barkley ended up in Philly, where he rushed for 2,000 yards while also winning a Super Bowl, so things seemed to have worked out well for him. 

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Author: John Breech
July 1, 2025 | 1:05 pm

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