The Pittsburgh Steelers almost came away from the trade deadline last season with a major offensive weapon for veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But even with all the active interest, the Miami Dolphins were not ready to part ways with veteran wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. This time around, Miami has realized the most dangerous asset in a rebuilding team’s locker room isn’t a draft pick. It’s the franchise player they insist they’re keeping.

“The Dolphins turned down interest in De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle at the 2025 trade deadline, and they have no plans to move the pair this offseason,” wrote Pro Football Rumors on X.

On the surface, this looks like a closed door. But in the NFL, “no” is rarely the same as “not for the right offer.”

Miami’s decision to retain Waddle signals something deeper than roster management; it almost feels like a conflict. The Dolphins finished 7-10 last season and are operating with a clear priority: accumulate draft capital for their rebuild. Their front office is retooling, and their roster is in flux. Keeping a franchise-caliber receiver mid-rebuild is a contradiction that might not survive the offseason.

Waddle posted 64 catches for 910 yards and six touchdowns in 2025, good numbers on a struggling team. The three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons to start his career have already established Waddle as one of the AFC’s most dynamic route runners. That kind of player doesn’t really belong in a fire sale. But he also doesn’t belong in storage while the franchise burns around him. NFL analyst Trey Carney framed the tension precisely.

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“Miami has made it clear they are going for a full reset & needing as much draft capital over the next two years that they can collect,” Carney wrote on X.

Full resets and franchise receivers rarely coexist peacefully. Miami’s front office can publicly commit to keeping Waddle while privately setting a price that makes parting ways worthwhile. “Final decision” becomes “best offer” the moment a team dials in with a first-round pick attached.

This contradiction is exactly why the trade chatter around Jaylen Waddle refuses to die down. Front office words and cap sheets often tell very different stories.

Pittsburgh’s problem, and opportunity

For three years, Pittsburgh’s wide receiver room has been a revolving door of mediocrity. General manager Omar Khan has been unable to solve it through the draft or free agency, quietly strangling the offense no matter who played quarterback. DK Metcalf is the Steelers’ lone proven weapon right now, and that isn’t enough to run head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense. But the answer to that problem might just be Jaylen Waddle. The only question is, is Pittsburgh willing to pay?

Last year, per ESPN, Miami’s baseline ask was already a “1-plus”: a first-round pick and additional compensation. Pittsburgh blinked, and the deal didn’t go through. But this offseason, the conversation is back open. And this time, both sides have something to gain. 

“It wouldn’t shock me if the Steelers end up trading for Jaylen Waddle this offseason,” writes NFL analyst Jack Sperry on X. “But I want people to realize it’s probably going to be pretty expensive to acquire him.”

“It could very easily cost PIT their 1st round pick this year,” Sperry continued. “And if not their 1st, it would almost certainly cost them their 2nd along with another mid-round pick.”

That is not a routine transaction; that’s franchise-shaping capital. Per ESPN, Miami’s baseline ask at last year’s deadline was already a “1-plus”: a first-round pick and additional compensation. The Dolphins ultimately pulled out of talks despite Pittsburgh coming close, which makes this feel like unfinished business.

As for Sperry, he tied the calculus of bringing in a veteran WR directly to the quarterback question that’s plaguing Steel City once again.

“I could see them paying the price tag, especially if Aaron Rodgers ends up returning to the team,” adds Sperry. “Because we know Rodgers prefers to work with veteran WRs and opposed to younger ones, but just know that if PIT ends up getting Waddle, that *likely* means no WR in Round 1 this year.”

That is a meaningful sacrifice for a franchise that has repeatedly struggled to stock its receiver room through the draft. But Jaylen Waddle, alongside DK Metcalf, would form one of the most dangerous receiver duos in the league. A rookie first-rounder is a long-term bet on upside that could take years to pay off. But Waddle with Metcalf could be a combo that rivals what CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens gave the Dallas Cowboys last season.

What’s more, multiple analysts believe that Aaron Rodgers will suit up in black and gold to play with his old Green Bay Packers coach,h Mike McCarthy, again. If Rodgers really returns, Waddle stops being a luxury and becomes a strategic necessity. The 27-year-old owns the elite separation speed Rodgers has always sought from his best weapons.

As Carney put it, “It all comes down to the price tag.”

For now, Miami says that Jaylen Waddle is staying put. But Pittsburgh might simply have to make that promise too expensive to keep.