ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are trading cursed passer Bradley Chubb to Miami for a package deal that includes the Dolphins’ first draft pick next year.
The Broncos (3-5) also get running back Chase Edmonds and a 2024 fourth-rounder from the Dolphins (5-3), who get a 2025 fifth-rounder from Denver.
Chubb’s departure comes a year after the Broncos traded franchise leader Von Miller, who helped the Rams win the Super Bowl in February before signing with the Buffalo Bills this offseason.
“Decisions like this aren’t easy,” general manager George Paton said after a dozen record-breaking players were dealt on the day of the NFL’s trade deadline. “…but at the end of the day, we always have to do what’s best for the team. And we don’t make that decision if we don’t have confidence in the players and the coaches of that team.
Paton said the depth at the edge of the rusher was strong enough for him to separate from Chubb, and “the draft value was significant. We just thought it was too good to pass up at the end. of the day. And it’s no secret that we need choices. It’s going to help us continue to build our football team.
The Broncos went 3-6 after Miller’s exit, and Paton said he wanted fans and players to know it wasn’t a surrender.
“We believe in this football team,” Paton said. “We believe in our leadership. We believe in our depth.
He also thinks his faltering offense will return.
Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler were also coveted by other teams, but Paton opted to keep his receiving squad intact as the team tries to develop more chemistry on offense.
“We wanted to keep our talented young receivers,” Paton said. “We started to pick up some momentum in our last game against Jacksonville and we feel good about where we’re going. We’re going in the right direction with Jeudy and Hamler and Courtland (Sutton) and we didn’t want to break that up. .
Paton struck a side deal by acquiring fifth-year passing thrower Jacob Martin from the New York Jets in a trade that included a trade of 2024 draft picks with the Broncos giving up a fourth round and the Jets a fifth round.
The first-round pick Paton got in the Chubb trade is the one the Dolphins acquired from San Francisco that allowed the 49ers to move up and draft quarterback Trey Lance in 2021.
The Dolphins lost their own first-round selection in 2023 and a third-round selection in the 2024 draft after an NFL investigation found Miami violated the league’s anti-tampering policy regarding communication with Tom. Brady.
Chubb was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft, a key part of Denver’s stellar defense and a locker room leader, though some Broncos fans are still smart about John Elway’s bypass of Wyoming QB Josh Allen, who went two picks later to Buffalo.
Chubb has 5 1/2 sacks this season — though none in the last three weeks — and a pair of forced fumbles after finishing his first completely healthy offseason since his rookie year when he had a record 12 sacks in career alongside Miller.
While the Broncos (3-5) got off to a poor start under the Nathaniel Hackett-Russell Wilson pairing, Paton found more value in what he could get for Chubb in next April’s draft than in the production that he would get from the former North Carolina. State Star over the next nine games.
Even if the Broncos’ record had been overturned, Paton said, “we would have made the trade regardless. We just found the value for money to be too good. … Going forward, we have more holes to fill on the attacking side of the ball.
Paton had traded his first- and second-round picks this year and next as part of the blockbuster deal that brought Wilson from Seattle last spring.
Avoiding the megadeal on the horizon if he had kept Chubb, Paton now has the financial flexibility to re-sign rising defensive line star Dre’Mont Jones for a big extension. “He’s one of our main players,” Paton said. “We’ve wanted him here for a long time.”
Chubb said last week that the speculation he was a top trade target was “pretty cool”, in that “it lets you know I’m playing good ball where other teams are also noticing “. But he added that he preferred to stay “long term in Denver. I have my house. I have everything. I’m comfortable.”
Chubb earns nearly $14 million on his fifth-year option this season. But his career has almost as many missed games (25) as sacks (26).
He missed most of last season following operations on both ankles to remove bone spurs and didn’t have a sack in seven games upon his return. He also missed most of 2019 with a torn ACL, but rebounded in 2020 with a Pro Bowl season.
Chubb’s departure comes at a time when the Broncos are suffering in the pass rush department with Randy Gregory (knee) and Baron Browning (wrist) on IR. Paton said Gregory probably won’t be ready to return for Denver’s next game at Tennessee on Nov. 13.
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AP Sports Writer Alanis Thames and AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed to this report.
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