Dolphins send Minkah Fitzpatrick to Jets for seventh-round pick

C. Isaiah Smalls II, Miami Herald on Mar 9, 2026

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MIAMI — Minkah Fitzpatrick will stay within the division.

The Miami Dolphins traded the star safety to the New York Jets in exchange for the Los Angeles Chargers’ seventh-round pick, according to multiple reports. New York will sign Fitzpatrick to a three-year deal worth $40 million.

This comes just weeks after reports surfaced that Miami had begun to shop Fitzpatrick. In his first season back in the aqua and orange since 2019, Fitzpatrick snagged one interception as well as had six pass deflections, 82 combined tackles and the first sack of his illustrious career. Arguably his best play of the year came when he recorded a pick-two that essentially sealed the 21-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints.

“Everything’s on the table when it comes to Minkah,” general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said when asked about Fitzpatrick’s future at the NFL Combine. In addition to calling him “a very good player in this league,” Sullivan explained that he’s already engaged in talks with Fitzpatrick and his representation. “That could go a lot of different directions as we move forward.”

The trade reduces the Dolphins’ cap commitment to Fitzpatrick from $18.8 million to $12.9 million to free up approximately $5.8 million in cap space.

Fitzpatrick’s latest stint in Miami lasted less than his first when the Dolphins traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers early in the 2019 season, a little more than one year after selecting him No. 11 overall. The safety blossomed during his six seasons with the Steelers, racking up five Pro Bowls and three All-Pros. He also accumulated 18 interceptions, 45 pass breakups and 516 total tackles.

In late June, Miami landed the three-time All-Pro along with a fifth-round pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Jonnu Smith, Jalen Ramsey and a seventh-round pick. Fitzpatrick instantly injected a healthy dose of veteran leadership in a defense that had a lot of youth.

“Minkah is definitely another coach out there, especially for me every drive,” then-rookie safety Dante Trader Jr. said in late December. “I talked to him before the game. He asked me some of the things, the focus, the emphasis before the game and some of the things that we talked about was just like zone, eyes and recognition. Being able to get into the right spots in zone, just having clean eyes in certain places, so just having the ability to have him, even when he’s not playing, to have him coach and then on the field, there are lessons in every play.”

With Fitzpatrick headed to the Dolphins’ AFC East rival, Trader will likely benefit from the increased reps. The 2025 fifth-round pick certainly proved himself, starting three games this past season yet appearing in all 17. Trader finished the year with 55 combined tackles, a forced fumble and a pass deflection.

“He’s a fast, convicted track tackling player that when he sees his keys, he’s covering a lot of distance in a short amount of time,” then-coach Mike McDaniel said of Tader. “He plays faster than whatever his 40 [-yard dash] would be timed at. The instincts and conviction allow him to move around the field and hold disguise but be a firm tackler at the point of attack. His aggressiveness for an undersized player, he’s got a screw loose in terms of we all recognize on the team that he will go and take on any size of player. I think in his mind he thinks he’s 330 pounds, but that competitive nature that he brings is a physical uptick for the group when he’s making plays.”

____