Dolphins Trade Idea Brings In 3,100 Yard Weapon After RB’s Injury

The Miami Dolphins suffered a blow to their running back group on Sunday when they lost third-string running back, Alexander Mattison for the entire 2025 season, after he suffered a neck injury against the Chicago Bears in the first game of pre-season.

Running back is not necessarily an area of weakness for the Dolphins – especially in light of the potentially very serious deficiencies at corner and on the exterior of the offensive line as we drawer nearer to the start of the regular season.

But the team did lose two of their top four backs this past offseason in Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr., as head coach Mike McDaniel decided to put his faith in the youth of De’Von Achane and second year talent, Jaylen Wright.

And now that the Mattison – as the veteran presence in that room – will not be present for the duration for the season, Miami may look to find a veteran, reliable RB elsewhere. In this scenario that “elsewhere” could be close to home, as this trade proposal sees the Dolphins strike a deal with the Patriots to land them sixth year back, Antonio Gibson.

Miami Trade Proposal Sees Them Make A Deal With Division Rival

Miami Dolphins receive: Antonio Gibson, 2026 seventh round pick

New England Patriots receive: 2026 fifth round pick,

The Patriots currently have Rhamondre Stevenson under contract until 2028, after signing him to a 4 year, $36 million deal last offseason, and just drafted TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of this year’s draft back in April, so its unlikely that Gibson will see much action.

Gibson would currently occupy the RB3 spot in Miami in this plan – the same role he currently has in New England. And whilst the Patriots would also not be super keen on losing their third string back, they – unlike Miami – have three young talents in JaMychal Hasty, Terrell Jennings and UDFA rookie, Deneric Prince on the roster.

What Would Antonio Gibson Bring To The Dolphins?

Whilst he is not the same kind of pure downhill, hard-hitting runner that Mattison has been over the course of his career, he has a broader skill-set; particularly in the passing game. This would suit actually Mike McDaniel’s versatile offense scheme perfectly, much of which focuses on the quarterback hitting the open RB in the backfield.

Achane is clearly ultra-talented, but he suffered a semi-sophomore slump in 2024, seeing his yards/carry go from a league high 7.8 (of players with over 50 rushes) in 2023, to a strong but non-spectacular 4.5 – although he did add nearly 600 yards in the passing game. Whilst Wright showed ability in his rookie season, he only had 68 carries for 249 yards – an amount that will likely increase in year 2.

However, he is still just a third year back who has only had just over three hundred touches in the run-game over his short NFL career. Adding Gibson brings in a knowledgeable veteran presence to help develop both the two load-carrying backs, alongside rookie sixth round pick, Ollie Gordon.