Report: Julius Thomas to be traded to the Dolphins after all

As it often happens this time of year, what’s true one minute is proved false the next. That appeared to be the case for Julius Thomas, who was reportedly going to be traded to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Branden Albert before a report Monday indicated that wouldn’t be happening.

Then just hours after news broke that Albert would be traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a late-round pick, rather than for Thomas, comes a report that indicates Thomas will, in fact, be traded to Miami.

The terms of this trade have yet to be disclosed, but we do now have some idea about what Jacksonville is receiving in return and that Thomas did agree to a pay cut.

Previously, Ian Rapoport noted that the potential trade for Thomas wasn’t dead but needed some kinks worked out, mainly regarding the player’s compensation.

What we do know is that it appears both players are moving to teams that could use their help.

For Jacksonville, it’s simple. If Blake Bortles is going to have a bounce-back campaign after a miserable 2016 season, then he needs to be protected. Albert was once among the best offensive tackles in the league and can slide inside to play guard if needed. He should be an immediate upgrade for the Jags.

Miami needs to continue building its offensive arsenal so that Ryan Tannehill can continue developing. Adding Thomas to the mix to play with Landry Jones, DeVante Parker and potentially Kenny Stills (a free agent they hope to keep) would give the Dolphins quite the receiving corps. Additionally, Thomas now re-joins former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who helped him become a tremendous weapon for Peyton Manning.

However this works out on paper, it appears both the Jaguars and Dolphins can coming away with a win here.