NFL Free Agency 2015 Continues: Saints Swap Kenny Stills To Dolphins For Dannell Ellerbe, Draft Pick
The topsy-turvy world that is the NFL offseason continues with the Saints dealing another vaunted piece of their offense to the Miami Dolphins for beleaguered linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and a 3rd round draft pick.
The news was broken by Rand Getlin, the NFL Insider for Yahoo! Sports:
Source: The #Saints are in the process of trading WR Kenny Stills to the Miami #Dolphins.
— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) March 13, 2015
It was later confirmed on the Saint’s Twitter page:
The #Saints have traded WR Kenny Stills to Dolphins for a 2015 3rd round pick and LB Dannell Ellerbe
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 13, 2015
According to CBS Sports, Stills was drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 draft out of Oklahoma and was a hot target for Drew Brees. Last year, Stills caught 63 passes for 931 yards and three touchdowns and overall has 95 catches for 1,572 yards total with the Saints.
Ellerbe, meanwhile, is a versatile linebacker coming off a hip injury according to NOLA. The Dolphins were actualy considering cutting the 29-year-old linebacker because of his expensive salary cap burden before the trade became official. NFL Insider Ian Rapoport tweeted that Dannell will restructure his contract with the Saints to ensure the trade works.
Meanwhile, new #Saints LB Dannell Ellerbe has agreed to restructure his contract after his trade from Miami. Will help NO cap situation
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2015
The addition of Stills gives Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill another weapon to work with along side newly acquired TE Jordan Cameron. As reported by Inquisitr, Miami snatched Cameron from the Cleveland Browns and signed him to a two year deal. However, Rapoport is now also reporting that the Stills trade could mean deep threat Mike Wallace is on his way out.
When the #Dolphins traded for Kenny Stills, WR Mike Wallace went on the trading blocks. They’ve explored this option before, doing it now.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2015
NFL Free Agency 2015 has seen a massive amount of activity since before the new calendar year officially began on March 10. Players like LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray and Darrelle Revis have all switched rosters while teams continue to make big deals seemingly every hour. The Stills trade isn’t even the biggest move the Saints have made this NFL offseason. Earlier this week they traded star TE Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for center Max Unger and a first round draft pick.
What do you think will happen next following the Kenny Stills trade?
[Photo credit: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images]
