The Miami Dolphins were reportedly close to making a trade deadline

After the Miami Dolphins stood and applauded at the NFL trade deadline, head coach Mike McDaniel explained that he had discussed potential deals with GM Chris Grier for players who would be traded or acquired.

Defensive lineman Calais Campbell was clearly one of the players discussed in a possible trade away from the Dolphins, and according to SI NFL journalist Albert Breer, he was apparently close to being dealt to one of his former teams.

That team was the Baltimore Ravens, for whom Campbell played from 2020-22 before spending last season with the Atlanta Falcons.

“They almost brought Calais Campbell back,” Breer said on Amazon Prime before Thursday night’s game between the Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. “That deal fell through at the last minute.”

What the Ravens offered the Dolphins, who were in a sticky spot with Campbell, remains to be seen.

On one hand, Campbell has been perhaps their best player through the first eight games of 2024, this after he decided to sign with the team and continue his career at age 38 for a chance to chase the elusive Super Bowl title .

That Campbell is doing it in the city where he played his college football — a UM alum — was a bonus, but the championship was something for him, and the Ravens would clearly offer a better chance to do this now.

But the Dolphins’ reluctance to deal him makes sense when we consider the tone of the organization after its good performance against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday — yes, even with a loss.

Trading Campbell, even to give him a solid if this will indeed be his final NFL season, would have been a classy thing to do, but it would also have signaled the team giving up on the 2024 season. And they’re not about to do that with nine games to go.

In the end, the Dolphins decided not to move Campbell because having him in the lineup clearly gave them a better chance to win.