Dolphins general manager Chris Grier offers insight into DeVante Parker trade, mentions Patriots’ aggressiveness

The New England Patriots were not the only team interested in acquiring wide receiver DeVante Parker from the Miami Dolphins. However, despite other clubs being involved as well and the Patriots entering the sweepstakes in an unfavorable situation due to their status as a division rival they were able to bring Parker aboard.

How did they do it? Parker wanting to come to New England certainly did play a role in that, as did the team’s early initiative set up by senior football advisor Matt Patricia. At the end of the day, according to Dolphins general manager Chris Grier, the Patriots simply were the most aggressive suitor.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Grier gave insight into the trade from a Miami perspective.

“You’ve seen over the years more teams doing inter-divisional trades, which, before, when I first started here, you’d never do that,” Grier said. “I think the last time we did it was with [Wes Welker], which didn’t turn out well for us then. But when you have an opportunity to do right by the player and the organization, both sides feel good about it — this was never anything where we planned to trade DeVante.

“Once we made the trade for Tyreek [Hill], we received multiple phone calls, and I think most teams assumed that we signed Cedrick Wilson, traded for Tyreek, and obviously with [Jaylen ]Waddle here, that DeVante was the guy that would be available. Multiple teams called. The Patriots were the most aggressive. And, at the end of the day, worked with the agent, talked to DeVante, wanted to do right by him, too, as well.”

Parker originally joined the Dolphins as a first-round draft selection and spent the first seven years of his career in Miami. While he was a productive player throughout his time with the club — he appeared in 94 games and 342 passes for 4,782 yards and 24 touchdowns — he also never quite established himself as a consistent difference-maker, in large part due to injuries.

As a result, the Dolphins began to rebuild their wide receiver room last year. They added Jaylen Waddle in the first round in 2021, and also acquired Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. over the course of this year’s offseason.

This left Parker as the odd man out, and allowed the Patriots to pick him up. New England sent a 2023 third-round draft pick to the Dolphins in exchange for the wideout and a 2022 fifth-round selection.

“Getting that third-round pick was very important for us, and we were fine with this year or next year,” Grier said about the compensation.

Now, he and his team will face their former first-round investment twice for the next two seasons. The Patriots, meanwhile, were able to address one of the biggest needs on their roster by bringing Parker aboard.