The NFL hasn’t even reached Week 3 of the regular season yet, and several teams, including the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers, have already been bitten by the injury bug. The Dolphins enter Sunday’s matchup against the undefeated Seattle Seahawks without their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Meanwhile, the 49ers enter their matchup against the winless Los Angeles Rams without Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, two of their best playmakers. While both teams will be at less than full strength, now one NFL insider has an idea that could help solve the needs of the Dolphins and the 49ers in one fell swoop.
Should Miami Dolphins trade one of their RBs for a San Francisco 49ers QB?
One area the Miami Dolphins have developed into a strength is their running back group. Raheem Mostert is the starter, but he’s also 32 years old. A much younger De’Von Achane is the future of Miami’s backfield. Yet, the Dolphins also added rookie Jaylen Wright in the fourth round and still boast Jeff Wilson Jr as another backup on the depth chart. That’s a lot of capable rushers.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers just placed Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve, which means Kyle Shanahan won’t have his top offensive playmaker in the lineup for at least the next four games. The 49ers are a run-heavy team, and while Jordan Mason has performed admirably in McCaffrey’s absence, San Francisco may need to strengthen the depth of their backfield.
Related: NFL Week 3 predictions: Projecting every game
Recently, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows suggested a trade proposal that could help solve the weaknesses of both teams.
“I made this point on X last week, but the 49ers need a reliable running back, and the Miami Dolphins seem to need a quarterback. The Dolphins have an abundance of runners who are in the same offense as San Francisco’s, and the 49ers have two backup quarterbacks who are about equal in the eyes of Shanahan and who could quickly slide into Mike McDaniel’s attack.
The Athletic’s Matt Barrows
Conclusion: Joshua Dobbs for Raheem Mostert. Or maybe Brandon Allen for Jeff Wilson Jr. Who says no?”
Depending on how confident Mike McDaniel is in Skylar Thompson’s abilities, Miami could very well be on the lookout for a new quarterback, and the opportunity to add one who should be familiar with many of the same concepts could be too good to pass up. But the Dolphins may not be ready to part with Mostert quite yet either.