Dolphins' Kenyan Drake Likely to be Traded, Not Traveling to Steelers Game

With an 0-6 record, the Miami Dolphins are heading to Pittsburgh to face off with the Steelers. However, there is one key member of the team that will not be present in the Steel City. According to ESPN, running back Kenyan Drake will not be making the trip with his team despite being completely healthy.

Sunday morning, Cameron Wolfe reported that Drake did not go to Pittsburgh with his teammates. There have been reports of a pending trade involving the former Alabama runner for weeks, and leaving him in South Florida was a clear sign that this could soon be happening.

If this trade does indeed take place, Wolfe believes that it could involve a mid-round pick. At least, that is what the Dolphins have been seeking. According to the Miami Herald, multiple teams have inquired about Drake but have balked at the possibility of paying a third or fourth-round pick. Instead, some teams have offered a late-round pick.

Considering that Drake was the man responsible for 2018's Miami Miracle that saw the Dolphins defeat the New England Patriots on a wild last-second play, it could be viewed as surprising that he is on the trade block. However, this move has been in the works for quite some time.

With a new head coach in Brian Flores leading the way and a new offensive coordinator in Chad O'Shea, Drake has seen his role greatly diminished. He had been active on roughly 50 percent of the snaps each game, but he was only on hand for 41.1 percent during the loss to the Buffalo Bills. Instead, former Cincinnati Bengals runner Mark Walton has been seeing a bigger workload each week.

Interestingly, the Dolphins did reportedly offer Drake a contract extension during the offseason, only to receive no response. The former Alabama back is set to be a free agent following the season.

Drake currently leads the Dolphins in both rushing yards (174) and carries (47), but he is averaging just 3.7 yards-per-carry. He also has 22 receptions for 174 yards.

Originally a third-round pick of the Dolphins in 2016, Drake has never been "the guy" in the backfield. He started his career as a backup for Jay Ajayi and has since worked in tandem with Kalen Ballage and Damien Williams. In his career, Drake has 1,536 rushing yards, nine touchdowns, 936 receiving yards, and another six scores through the air. He has never topped 1,000 yards in a season due to the sharing of snaps, but he reached 644 in 2017.

(Photo Credit: Mark Brown/Getty)