The Miami Dolphins won’t start the 2024 NFL Draft’s second day with a third-round selection. If they want two Day 2 picks, they’re going to need to trade up. They didn’t use the pick as part of an earlier trade, though. It was ripped away for bad behavior.
The Dolphins lost their 2024 third-round pick as part of their punishment for tampering with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton. They also forfeited a 2023 first-round selection and owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million. It’s the largest penalty for tampering in the history of the NFL.
Ross attempted to lure Brady to South Beach while he was under contract with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers plus he attempted to pair him with Payton, then the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Multiple years of tampering and multiple teams meant a hefty punishment.
Our James Dator summed up Miami’s plan to land Brady like this when the original reports started circling in April 2022.
The plan would have seen Brady retire from the Buccaneers, Payton resign from the Saints, and then join forces in Miami. Brady would take a high-ranking job as an executive, serving as his foray from the field into the front office. After Tampa Bay had moved on, Brady would announce that he wanted to return to football, pushing for Miami to make a trade with the Buccaneers. This plan was first reported by Front Office Sports, but later confirmed by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, who offered more information on the alleged plan.
The plan never materialized, and Brady left the Patriots as a free agent and signed with Tampa Bay, playing three seasons and winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs. He is currently pursuing an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders while set to call NFL games for FOX in the fall. He sat out the 2023 season, so he’s probably not going to come back. (Right?) Brady was never punished for his role in the tampering scandal.
Payton left the Saints after the 2021 season and was hired by the Denver Broncos in 2023. Denver had to send a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 second-rounder to the Saints in order to sign Payton as he was still under contract with New Orleans. You know, the thing the Dolphins ignored.
Miami’s 2024 draft currently sits like this:
- Round 1: Penn State DE Chop Robinson
- Round 2: No. 55
- Round 5: No. 158
- Round 6: No. 184 (from Chicago)
- Round 6: No. 198
- Round 7: No. 241
