Patriots Acquire Wide Receiver From Dolphins

According to reports from Ian Rapoport, the New England Patriots have acquired wide receiver DeVante Parker from the Miami Dolphins for a late round draft pick. Parker had recently fallen in the Dolphins wide receiver depth chart after they acquired Pro Bowl WR Tyreek Hill and also added Cedrick Wilson in free agency.

Sources: The #Dolphins are trading WR DeVante Parker to the #Patriots in exchange for late-round draft pick compensation. Parker lands at a perfect place with stability he’s been wanting, while MIA gains financial flexibility.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 2, 2022

The finalized trade was then reported by Adam Schefter that the pick the Dolphins was a third round pick in 2023 for DeVante Parker and a 2022 fifth round pick.

More about the New England Patriots acquiring WR DeVante Parker in a trade with the Miami Dolphins:https://t.co/ixZoQiEkPq
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 2, 2022

The former first round pick of the Dolphins in 2015, has been solid second or third option for the team throughout his NFL career. Parker is now two seasons removed from his only 1000+ receiving yard season, when he put up 1202 yards and 9 TDs during the 2019 campaign. He has since struggled to get back to those numbers as he put up 793 yards in 2020 and only 515 this past season.

This past season, the numbers were down a little as he only played 10 games due to injury. However, now with the new acquisitions coming in, the 29-year old was likely going to fall to the fourth or fifth receiver behind Jaylon Waddle, Hill, and Wilson. He would likely have gotten less attempts than tight end Mike Gesicki. With that being said, a trade to New England will allow himself to stay within the 700-800 receiving yard range which is his normal rate. However if he remains healthy all year, he could find his way back close to the 1000 yard area. It should be noted his yards per catch were nearly four yards more than his normal 12.6-12.9 yards per catch that he has performed on a usual basis the last few years.

For the Patriots, they add Parker to help bolster their WR depth fir the up coming season. While, the Dolphins gain financial stability following a busy free agency for the team. It is possible that GM Chris Grier makes a few more money cutting deals to stabilize their cap situation heading into the 2022 NFL season. With this trade, the Dolphins traded their longest tenured player as Parker had been with the team since being drafted in 2015.

It'll be interesting to see how Parker bounces back with a new team after an injury-plagued season.