We saw several reported trades in the NFL on Tuesday, and one included the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins. The Panthers announced that they had traded offensive tackle Greg Little to the Dolphins in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick. That pick will be the first of Miami's seventh-rounders after the club traded its own seventh-round selection to the Los Angeles Rams.
Little was unfortunately a disappointment in Carolina and his spot on the 53-man roster was certainly in question. As for the Dolphins, they are taking a flier, hoping that the change of scenery will help Little become the player many thought he would be. Who won this trade? Let's try to grade the transaction.
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Panthers: C+
Let's get something out of the way first. What hangs over this deal is that Little was a disappointment for Carolina. Back in 2019, the Panthers traded up 10 spots to take Little with the No. 37 overall pick. He was just coming off an impressive season with Ole Miss, where he was named All-SEC, and was seen as someone who could one day evolve into a franchise left tackle. That did not happen.
In two seasons with the Panthers, Little started in six of 14 total games played, and dealt with several injuries. It was a legitimate question if Little was going to be cut or not, so the Panthers receiving a seventh-round pick is a small victory in what was a misfire.
Dolphins: C
The Dolphins hope Little can turn things around in his third season, but there's not much reason to believe that will happen apart from his impressive collegiate career at Ole Miss. It actually says a lot that Little was on the chopping block because Carolina has some serious issues at left tackle. Free agent addition Cameron Erving hasn't done enough yet to secure the starting job and Trent Scott had two false-start penalties in Week 1 of the preseason. Things look so bad that Carolina has even given star right tackle Taylor Moton some run on the left side.
Protecting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is a high priority for the Dolphins, so they are taking a shot here. This was a low-risk gamble, so there's nothing to be too upset about. It's just likely that the Dolphins could have put in a claim for Little after he was released.
