Jordyn Brooks just finished a First-Team All-Pro season. ESPN’s Aaron Schatz believes that’s exactly why the Miami Dolphins should trade him before his contract runs out.
“Is there any point in the Dolphins keeping good players if their contracts end after the 2026 season?” Schatz wrote in his offseason moves column. “Brooks could possibly re-sign with Miami to be part of the rebuild. But he’s likely gone, so the Dolphins should get something for him.”
The case for moving Brooks comes from his production.
He led the NFL with 183 total tackles in 2025 and added 3.5 sacks as a blitzer, numbers that make him one of the more attractive trade chips at his position for any contender.
Schatz pointed specifically to the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys as teams with contending-quality offenses and real linebacker needs.
Sep 14, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) reacts after play against the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Why Miami’s own statements directly contradict the trade premise
The problem with Schatz’s logic is that it ignores what the Dolphins have actually been saying and doing all offseason. GM Jon-Eric Sullivan named Brooks specifically, alongside De’Von Achane, Aaron Brewer and Patrick Paul, as a building block back in January.
🗞 Aaron Schatz of ESPN believes the Miami Dolphins should trade LB Jordyn Brooks:
“Is there any point in the Dolphins keeping good players if their contracts end after the 2026 season? Brooks could possibly re-sign with Miami to be part of the rebuild. But he’s likely gone, so… pic.twitter.com/Z0IwqwvMHg
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) June 20, 2026
Miami has already extended Brewer and Achane this offseason. Sullivan has said multiple times that the team hopes to get an extension with Brooks done.
“He’s a very good player,” Sullivan said earlier this year. “He’s made of the right kind of stuff. And we’d like him to be a pillar on the defensive side of the ball for us as we build this out.”
That doesn’t mean the speculation stops.
Trade chatter around Brooks has become a near-weekly fixture in national NFL coverage, with Fox Sports’ Greg Auman recently ranking him the No. 1 trade candidate in the league, and Bleacher Report floating a hypothetical Cowboys package centered on a 2027 second-round pick.
Dallas had previously been linked to Brooks through reporting from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as far back as March.
Brooks is entering his age-29 season on the final year of his current deal.
Will Miami’s full-scale roster overhaul under new leadership ultimately include him long-term, or will the front office’s public commitment get tested by an in-season offer too strong to refuse? That is the question that will follow Brooks through the entire 2026 campaign, regardless of what any single analyst recommends in June.