Total Pro Sports
It just keeps getting worse for the Miami Dolphins’ cornerback room. On Thursday, veteran Artie Burns went down at practice with a knee injury. He left the field on crutches. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the early belief is a torn ACL. Burns now waits on an MRI and a second opinion, but it doesn’t look good.
He wasn’t even the starter. Burns had locked in the backup nickel role behind Kader Kohou. But with him now likely done for the year, the Dolphins’ already thin secondary just got dangerously thin.
Instead of chasing a big-name corner like Stephon Gilmore, the Dolphins could take a smarter route. According to a trade proposal from Daniel Arwas of Heavy.com, Miami is eyeing a deal for not one, but two young cornerbacks, Cobie Durant from the Rams and Starling Thomas V from the Cardinals.
Neither name will set Twitter on fire. But both come with starting experience and solid, if not spectacular, tape.
Durant started 14 games last season. Thomas started 15. Per Pro Football Focus, Durant posted a 63.7 grade. Thomas landed at 60.9. Not great, but not disastrous either.
Dolphins veteran CB Artie Burns, who injured his knee at practice today and left on crutches, is feared to have a torn ACL, per source. Burns is now awaiting an MRI and second opinion to confirm. pic.twitter.com/SUkHmNXQsp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 23, 2025
Here’s where the numbers really speak. Dolphins’ current options, Cam Smith and Storm Duck, graded far worse. Duck finished with a 55.5. Smith? A brutal 33.6. Only seven corners in the entire league ranked lower.
Durant and Thomas won’t transform the defense overnight. But they’d lift the floor and give the coaching staff two proven options while Smith and Duck continue to develop.
And the cost? Minimal. Miami would send a 2026 sixth-rounder to the Rams for Durant. Arizona would receive a 2026 fifth and seventh for Thomas. That’s three late picks in exchange for immediate help.
The Dolphins recently boosted their safety spot by bringing back All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick. But cornerback remains the glaring weak spot. The AFC isn’t getting any easier, and Miami can’t afford to roll with corners who haven’t proven anything.
This trade wouldn’t solve every problem. But it would buy the Dolphins time. Time to stabilize. Time to compete. And maybe time to avoid seeing another season slip through the cracks because the defense couldn’t hold up.
With Burns down and the depth chart looking shaky, this double-dip trade might just be the smart move Miami needs to stay in the fight.
