The Miami Dolphins are headed into Week 7 at 0-5 and, as a seller at the trade deadline, they figure to listen on veteran players whose contracts are running out. That much seems straightforward. What’s less straightforward is whether one of their most attractive names at first glance is actually available at all.
Chop Robinson, the young first-round edge rusher who would draw interest almost anywhere, may not be on the market despite the outside buzz. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport reported that while there should be teams calling about him, Miami doesn’t view him as a trade chip.
“General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan will always answer the phone, but the Dolphins view Robinson as part of their future, rather than a trade chip,” Schefter and Rapoport report.
That stance fits the way the Dolphins are trying to operate. With the team looking to gather as much young talent as possible while also dealing with an NFL-record dead salary cap issue, moving a 23-year-old pass rusher with real upside may not make much sense to them.
Robinson was a 2024 first-round pick, and the team has more control ahead than a typical trade candidate would offer. He is under contract through 2027, with the Dolphins also able to exercise a fifth-year option for 2028.
That kind of control gives Miami options, and it also changes the conversation. Teams around the league would almost certainly have serious interest in a player like Robinson, and the Dolphins could probably command a strong draft-pick package if they ever decided to deal him. But they may simply prefer to keep him in the building.
The calculus would be different if Robinson were closer to free agency, like some of Miami’s other veterans who are set to reach the open market after the 2026 NFL season. In that case, a trade would look far more likely. As it stands, the Dolphins still have at least two-and-a-half years of control, and there’s even the possibility of using the franchise tag for the 2029 season.
So for now, Miami does not appear to have a plan to move him. The organization doesn’t need to rush the decision either, since a trade could still happen next offseason or even at next year’s deadline if the Dolphins change course.
For the 2026 NFL trade deadline in November, though, Robinson looks more likely to remain in Miami, even with plenty of teams probably willing to pay a heavy price to pry him loose.
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Malik Willis Just Changed A Bigger Dolphins Conversation
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