Is ‘Sellers Remorse’ Growing on Minkah Trade?

M.J.

5 years ago

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s play so far has him in contention for Defensive MVP

One of the many shocking Miami Dolphins storylines this year was the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some fans were furious, others cheered, and some saddened. Everyone though was waiting to see how Minkah played for the Steelers and what the value of pick Miami received for him end up.

With Minkah playing lights out and the value of the Steelers pick diminishing week-by-week as they win, are the Phins and their fans feeling ‘sellers remorse?

The answer is obviously, yes… at the moment. But, will the same be said over the long-term?

Let’s lay all the factors out on the table:

First, Chris Grier put his job on the line to draft Minkah. Dolphins owner Steven Ross wanted to trade back and draft quarterback Lamar Jackson, but Grier overrode him and drafted Fitzpatrick against his boss’s wishes.

Though Minkah isn’t a lemon, Jackson and an extra pick was the right move in hindsight. But at this point, Miami only has a 1st rounder at ever lessening value. This is a downward trajectory for the 11th pick in the 2018 Draft.

With Jackson in the running for league MVP and Fitzpatrick in the running for defensive MVP, it will take one hell of a draft pick to equal Jackson or Minkah. They could very well draft equal value or better. That’s a long way from here to there though.

Right now, we can only focus on the situation since the hiring of Flores and prior to this coming draft.

Flores and Grier have taken the road less traveled since they paired up, Fitzpatrick is just one in a long line. They are consistent if nothing else.

The Fitzpatrick trade wasn’t about value

As a refresher, the Dolphins shipped Minkah off to the Pittsburgh Steelers, along with a 2020 fourth-round-pick and a 2021 seventh-round-pick, in exchange for a first-and-fifth-round pick in 2020, and a sixth-rounder in 2021. So, Miami also lost a quality pick in the 4th rounder, where analytics gives a 25-30% chance to find a starter.

Under a pure value grade, right now Miami is losing big… but this trade and Flores’ philosophy isn’t about ‘raw value’. For better or worse, the foundation of this team is an uncompromising adherence to a culture built on character, mental toughness, intelligence and, most of all, team above self. Talent is the cherry on top, not the other way around.

This isn’t the way most teams go about it. Oh, they preach it all right, but you can bet with Price Per Head Sportsbook Solutions like www.AcePerHead.com that they’ll compromise if the talent is big enough.

The Fitzpatrick trade was all about Flores putting his money where his mouth is.

Let clear up who Minkah Fitzpatrick is

Minkah is known as Nick Saban Jr. So if we want to know who Minkah is we must know who Nick Saban is?

Nick Saban is one of the most accomplished football minds of this generation, but he is also a quitter and selfish. Saban slithered his way out of Miami because the going got tough and brighter pastures lay elsewhere. He left Miami to hold the bag of his failures.

Ambition is higher on Saban’s ethical food chain than loyalty or honesty. Of course, he espouses otherwise. But, I’ll take his actions and Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor’s take any day of the week over his.

Is Minkah any different?

He said in pre and post-draft interviews that he was a man of many skills and could (and would) play anywhere. But, this season he complained that he was given too much to handle. Derwin James was noted as the athlete and Minkah the brains/character safety. Yet, Derwin did exactly what Minkah was asked without a glitch as a rookie.

Listen to this interview again:

Was it really too hard for Minkah… or was it simply that the job was crimping his plans and wants?

When was the last time you’ve heard of a 2nd year rookie forcing himself off a team? I actually can’t remember one. Let me know if I missed someone. This type of hardwired personality doesn’t jive with Flores’ philosophy.

One or the other had to go.

To quote Minkah:”When it comes to coaches, they can only do so much. Once the top guy on the team is doing what he’s supposed to be doing and people see him having success and doing it the right way, then everybody will do it the right way… and vice versa.“

Pretty much sums it up. Easier to preach it than live it? Isn’t it?

Minkah isn’t a bad guy and he is very talented, but his core nature doesn’t match the image he projects. He is Nick Saban Jr. How can the player the defense is being built around be selfish and the type of person who puts himself above the team? How could Flores ask Rowe or McCain to put the team first if the star is above it?

For many teams, this isn’t a problem. But for Flores, this type of personality undermines the very core of the team he is trying to build.

Fitzpatrick was not playing with 100% effort and was a growing distraction with his mother’s tweets and his backhanded insults. Flores and Grier had to either comprise their process and culture for talent or get what he could.

They got what they could.

Sometimes you have to cut off a limb to save the body

Talent is a sure thing, and building a team based on selflessness in a selfish age is very risky. But, this is the vision Flores has and the type of team most Phins Fans grew up watching. The chances that Flores will build a great team under this system aren’t high… but it is certainly a noble pursuit. All football fans should be rooting for him to succeed because this culture is the very heart of what football is: utilitarian sacrifice.

This is why Phins fans should see this as a winning trade: If Flores succeeds many modern-day Dolphins fans will get to feel what we old-timers felt under Shula… a team to be proud of for their character as much as the wins. Go Phins!!!