The Dolphins were looking to clear their roster in 2019, and that led to one of the more notable trades that took place around that season’s deadline. On October 28, 2019, the Dolphins traded running back Kenyan Drake to the Cardinals for a conditional sixth-round pick.
Drake had spent his first three-plus seasons in Miami, including a 2018 campaign where he collected 1,012 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns in a part-time role. However, the 2019 iteration of the Dolphins had no hopes of contending, and the organization traded off pieces as they looked towards 2020 and beyond. So, on this date two years ago, they sent their starting running back to Arizona.
The Cardinals didn’t give up a whole lot to acquire Drake, and they needed some reinforcement at the position with both David Johnson and Chase Edmonds struggling with injuries. Drake ended up having a solid eight-game stint for the organization, collecting 814 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. Still, the move didn’t do much to help the team’s record, as Arizona finished at 5-10-1.
The organization ended up placing the transitional tag on their acquisition following the 2019 season, and Drake eventually signed a one-year, $8.48MM tender. During his lone full season in Arizona, the running back finished with a career-high 10 touchdowns to go along with 1,092 yards from scrimmage. Drake moved on to the Raiders prior to the 2021 season (via a two-year, $14.5MM deal), and the Cardinals pivoted to James Conner in a rushing attack that also includes Edmonds and quarterback Kyler Murray.
While the Dolphins did everything in their power to clear their 2019 roster of any talent, the team still only finished with the fifth-worst record in the NFL. As a result, the team missed out on LSU superstar Joe Burrow and had to settle for Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Further, the front office made a curious move with the draft pick they acquired from Arizona. That conditional sixth-rounder ended up improving to a fifth-round pick, and the Dolphins proceeded to…trade the pick for running back Matt Breida, who’s only a year younger than Drake.
Each team had different intentions when making the selection, but neither team ended up with their desired outcome. Hindsight is always 20/20, but both teams may have been better off avoiding this trade altogether (although it’s tough to be overly critical of the Cardinals for ditching a late-rounder or the Dolphins for essentially swapping Drake for Breida).
Pretty sure this transaction does not need to be remembered.
Lol. Indeed.
Wow pivotal life changing news.
“the Cardinals pivoted to James Conner in a rushing attack that also includes Edmonds”. You realize Edmonds is the starter, right?
Slow news day?
But James Connor still smashing in fantasy football for deeper leagues. He is getting get 10-16 touches a game?
I’m pretty sure this article is leaving out a bit of information like the fact the dolphins were not trying to sell him off to purge the roster. They wanted and tried to resign him but he felt he deserved more money and wanted to test the waters so that is when they decided it’s best to get something for him then see him walk in fa
If y’all don’t like it, move along. Some of the people complaining here are the first ones to pipe up when a story is posted late or complain about a lack of content. Not every transaction was the Herschel Walker trade. And this was a relatively high level deal-not many teams acquire their starting running back midseason.
Thanks for doing these. I hope they continue.