Hours before the start of the negotiation period, the Jets and Dolphins make a rare intra-division trade.
The Dolphins are trading safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Jets for a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Miami was set to release Fitzpatrick in a salary cap move. But he will sign a three-year, $40 million contract with the Jets. The trade will be processed at the start of the new league year on Wednesday.
Fitzpatrick had one year, $15.6 million, non-guaranteed, remaining on his deal.
This is the second trade the Jets have made ahead of free agency. During the NFL Scouting Combine, they traded pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Titans for T’Vondre Sweat.
A former Dolphins first-round pick in 2018, Fitzpatrick, 29, was traded back to Miami last year after six years with the Steelers. While in Pittsburgh, Fitzpatrick was selected to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams while becoming one of the best safeties in the NFL.
Versatility has always been part of Fitzpatrick’s game. He can line up in a traditional safety spot in coverage and at the line of scrimmage with his ability to sack quarterbacks and create turnovers. Fitzpatrick can also be a nickel cornerback, which should make him a nice chess piece on a Jets defense that failed to record an interception during the entire 2025 season.
The Jets have been searching for safety help for years. But now they add an instinctive safety in Fitzpatrick, who has averaged 86 tackles and 2.6 interceptions throughout his career.
But since 2022, Fitzpatrick’s interception totals have decreased. He has just two interceptions in three seasons after having six in 2022.
Fitzpatrick had an up-and-down final season with the Dolphins after playing at both the nickel and safety. He registered 82 tackles, one sack, and one interception in 14 games.
Andre Cisco and Tony Adams, the two Jets starting safeties last year, are both free agents and are likely to move on. Malachi Moore showed flashes during his rookie campaign, but adding a ballhawk like Fitzpatrick should help the Jets improve from having the fewest turnovers (four) in the league.
Fitzpatrick will reunite with Brian Duker, who became the Jets defensive coordinator in January. The two worked together when Duker was the Dolphins secondary coach and pass game coordinator the last year. Jets coach Aaron Glenn will be the defensive playcaller in their new hybrid defensive scheme.
This will be a homecoming for Fitzpatrick. He was born in Old Bridge, NJ, and played high school football at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City.
