The Cowboys defensive line is chock full of questions. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence received a second-straight franchise tag and could hold out until he and the Cowboys agree to an extension. Defensive end Randy Gregory received an indefinite suspension — his fourth league suspension since 2015 – in late February. Defensive tackle David Irving hit free agency, wasn’t re-signed and retired to pursue cannabis advocacy. But amid these questions, Dallas found one answer Thursday. The Cowboys agreed to a trade with the Miami Dolphins for defensive end Robert Quinn, a person with knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been made official. NFL Network was the first to report the trade. Dallas will send a 2020 sixth-round pick to Miami in the deal. Quinn visited team headquarters at The Star last Tuesday as word surfaced the Dolphins and new coach Brian Flores were exploring their market. Miami had already shown it would pay to offload a player that didn’t fit its future plans. Earlier in March, the Dolphins swapped quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a 2019 sixth-round pick in exchange for the Titans’ 2020 fourth and 2019 seventh-round picks. The Dolphins reportedly paid $5 of $7 million in guarantees on Tannehill’s new contract. He will now back up Marcus Mariota. Miami subsequently signed free-agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Dolphins already paid Quinn his $1.12 million roster bonus two weeks ago. But he was set to count $12.9 million against the cap in 2019, second most on the roster. Now, the Cowboys add their second former Pro Bowl selection this offseason. On March 19, Dallas agreed to terms with former Packers receiver Randall Cobb. Quinn was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014. He notched a whopping 40 sacks in three seasons beginning in 2012. The eight-year vet claims 79 sacks, 256 tackles, 23 forced fumbles and 17 pass deflections in all. His production, however, has dipped since 2014. With the Dolphins in 2018 — Quinn spent seven prior years with the Rams — Quinn started all 16 games and registered 6.5 sacks and 38 tackles. The Cowboys' defense ranked sixth overall in 2018 but finished 20th against the pass. Dallas will look to Quinn to complement Lawrence on the end, potentially allowing Crawford to spend more time inside. Gregory will have a role in the pass rush if available but the Cowboys are planning as if they can’t count on him. His suspension, indefinite in Stage Three of the league’s program on substance abuse, depends on if and when he meets league criteria for reinstatement. That doesn’t eliminate Gregory returning in time for training camp but it also doesn’t assure his availability at any point in 2019. “Randy played a lot of snaps for us at defensive end last year,” head coach Jason Garrett said at the combine. “We do feel like we have good defensive end depth, so hopefully come draft time we can draft as purely as possible.” The Cowboys’ first selection in the 2019 draft is in the second round, at pick 58. Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein. If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.<doc-sep>Exclusive right tenders are offered to players with less than four years of experience after their contracts have expired. It pays those free agents the NFL minimum for one season, with the potential to become restricted free agents the following year.<doc-sep>DAVIE, FL - FEBRUARY 04: Stephen Ross Chairman & Owner, Brian Flores Head Coach, Chris Grier General Manager of the Miami Dolphins pose for the media after announcing Brian Flores as their new Head Coach at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on February 4, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) There is a lot of speculation as to what the Miami Dolphins will do with the 13th pick. Do they keep it or use it in a trade package to move up or down? The Miami Dolphins have remained relatively quiet in free agency. No longer interested in throwing large sums of money at free agents to plug in spots, the Dolphins have their sights solely on the draft to provide long-term solutions. It’s a different approach than what we’re used to seeing from this organization, but arguably, the right one. In order for it to work, however, Miami must hit on those draft picks. It starts on April 25th with the 13th overall selection. Once again selecting outside of the top 10, what are the Dolphins plans with the 13th pick? Miami has a number of needs, none more so than a future quarterback. It’s not a strong class of quarterbacks, however, and it’s highly likely that the featured names will be off the board by 13. There are a number of other positions the Dolphins need to address in the process. They could simply stand pat where they are and take the best pass rusher or offensive lineman available, seemingly waiting until 2020 to take a quarterback. Then there is the possibility that Miami looks to find a trade partner to trade down with and get additional picks. Or maybe they think their quarterback is in this class and they feel the need to move up and get him. It will obviously all depend on how the board is falling on draft day, but trading out of the 13th pick is a real possibility for the Dolphins. Let’s take a look at some potential trade partners. Trade-Up Scenarios Tampa Bay Miami receives: First-round pick (5th overall) Tampa Bay receives: First-round pick (13th overall) Second-round pick (48th overall) 2020 second-round pick Giving up draft capital is not what we want to see from a team that is rebuilding but in order to get the guy you want, sometimes it is necessary. We saw the Kansas City Chiefs do it two years ago to grab Patrick Mahomes. In the same draft, the Houston Texans went up to get Deshaun Watson. Last year, the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals made moves to get Josh Allen and Josh Rosen, respectively. A package such as this one allows Miami to at least keep their first round pick in 2020 and get their quarterback now. This scenario would likely assume that it’s Dwayne Haskins with a number of reports already claiming that the Cardinals plan to take Kyler Murray at #1 overall. Haskins is viewed by many as the number one quarterback in this class. If Miami gets blown away by him in their research, they may decide that forking over a couple of second rounders is worth it. Tampa Bay needs defensive help and there are a number of quality players in this class on that side of the ball. Trading down would allow them to still grab a terrific edge rusher while picking up some capital in the process. Jacksonville Miami receives: First-round pick (7th overall) Jacksonville receives: First-round pick (13th overall) Third-round pick (78th overall) 2020 Fourth-round pick This is a similar scenario with Haskins potentially still on the board. Miami is still able to move up to get their guy without giving up a ton of capital. The Dolphins can live with parting with a third-rounder in this case. In addition, Miami already has two fourth-round picks lined up in 2020 after trading Ryan Tannehill to Tennessee. For Jacksonville, a move down in this draft is very possible. After signing Nick Foles in free agency, the Jaguars no longer need to draft a quarterback. Now, they’ll be looking to get Foles some protection on the offensive line and provide him some weapons to throw to. It’s very possible that they could get a player at pick 13 that they’ve been mocked to at pick 7. Trade-Down Scenarios Washington Miami receives: First-round pick (15th overall) Third-round pick (96th overall) Washington receives: First-round pick (13th overall) The Washington Redskins received four compensatory picks this season, giving them two third-round picks. They could afford to part with one of those comp picks here. Like the Dolphins, the Redskins need a future quarterback, and like the Dolphins, they always seem to be on the outside of the top 10. Miami sits only two spots ahead of Washington and the team between them, Atlanta, is not in the market for a quarterback. It’s a spot, however, where the Dolphins could play hardball with the Redskins. There is the possibility that someone like Drew Lock could fall out of the top 10, and available for the Dolphins at 13. Now, I personally believe that Miami will only take a quarterback in the first round if it is either Murray or Haskins. It’s unclear how exactly they view Lock and chances are they will keep it a mystery. The Redskins, on the other hand, could be very intrigued by Lock. Miami could make the impression that they plan to take Lock, and put Washington in a position where they feel obligated to move up and grab him. It’s an unlikely scenario, but we’ve seen teams before move up one or two spots to secure the player they covet. New York Giants Miami receives: First-round pick (17th overall) Third-round pick (95th overall) Fifth-round pick (171st overall) New York receives: First-round pick (13th overall) Seventh-round pick (233rd overall) The New York Giants have 12 picks in this draft. They netted a first and third-round pick in the blockbuster trade that sent Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns. Many simply do not understand what general manager Dave Gettleman is doing in New York. There are rumors circulating that the Giants will not take a quarterback with the 6th overall selection. That would imply that they plan to take one at 17 since they have to move on from Eli Manning eventually. New York may want to take someone who can sit and develop a year or two behind Manning. It’s possible that they make a trade for Josh Rosen, but if not, a move ahead of their division-rival Redskins would make sense. This is the same scenario with Drew Lock remaining on the board. Lock seems like a perfect candidate to replace Manning, and it prevents the Redskins from taking him. The trade for the Dolphins is obvious as they move down a few spots and pick up an additional third-rounder, while basically swapping a seventh for a fifth. Kansas City Miami receives: First-round pick (29th overall) Fifth-round pick (167th overall) 2020 first-round pick Kansas City receives: First-round pick (13th overall) The Chiefs were an overtime away from the Super Bowl last year. The flaws of their defense would prove to be their demise. This offseason, they parted ways with Justin Houston and traded Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2020 second-round pick. Even if the Chiefs had held on to both players, they would still be looking at this draft class for a pass rusher. With so many pass rushers in this class, Kansas City could look to move up to take one that they really like. This is a trade that makes a lot of sense for both teams. Miami moves down a considerable amount, but they get the extra first-round pick in 2020 that they’re looking for. For the Chiefs, they are in win-now mode. They would love nothing more than adding an elite defender. With the addition of the second-round pick coming from the 49ers, they can also afford to part with next year’s first. It’s a good spot for both teams to help each other out in terms of what their needs are.<doc-sep>
The NFL is never short on rumors and there's a juicy one, albeit one that's over a year old, that leaked out of the 2019 NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix this week. The Miami Dolphins, unhappy with their quarterback situation heading into last year, reportedly tried to trade for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. According to Armando Salgeuro of the Miami Herald, ex-Miami coach Adam Gase, now with the Jets, spearheaded an effort to try and upgrade from their current situation, which featured Ryan Tannehill on top of the depth chart. Salgeuro reports that Gase got personally involved and specifically targeted Stafford, going so far as to reach out "personally to Lions coach Matt Patricia to try to pry Stafford away from the Lions." Per the report, the Dolphins and Lions didn't get far enough down the road to try and actually put together any real compensation package, but Salguero believes the Dolphins were willing to offer "at minimum Miami's 2018 first-round pick and probably more." Uh, you think? Stafford is a two- or three-pick QB at least. Maybe Stafford at his age doesn't command three first-round picks, but there is zero doubt he's going to get two of them in return, in addition to a little more compensation coming back to the other team. There's also the matter of the financial inflexibility that Stafford's contract would have caused for the Lions: as noted by ESPN's Bill Barnwell, the Lions would have had somewhere between $46.5 million and $53 million in dead cap space last year if they dealt Stafford. They would need to really not like Stafford as a quarterback if they wanted to move on with that kind of cap hit. Miami wanting to move on from Tannehill shouldn't be too huge of a surprise: they traded him this offseason to the Titans with everyone understanding Tannehill, the No. 9 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, would have been released if he wasn't cut. Gase always played his hand as if he was enamored with Tannehill as a quarterback, or at least a big fan of the former Texas A&M starter. But Tannehill missed a ton of time, including the entire 2017 season, which forced the Dolphins to sign and start Jay Cutler for an full year. It wasn't ideal. Tannehill was never fully healthy last year and the Dolphins got fined for mislabeling his injury status. There was also a bizarre rant that Gase went on in October about HIPAA laws and not being able to talk about Tannehill's injury. So despite Gase's willingness to back Tannehill, perhaps all of these things make more sense in light of the Dolphins trying to trade for another quarterback. Lions GM Bob Quinn was asked by Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press about possibly trading Stafford earlier this offseason at the scouting combine and firmly denied that it was a possibility, although Quinn could simply be making sure Stafford doesn't think that the Lions wanted to try and trade him or even listened to the possibility. Figuring out a way to make this happen would have taken a lot of maneuvering in terms of the compensation and the salary cap for both sides, but the "what if" factor here is fascinating from the perspective of how it would have changed the short- and long-term outlooks for both teams involved.