The Phinsider
Ten years ago, the Miami Dolphins added wide receiver Kenny Stills in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. We take a look back at that deal today.
The New Orleans Saints used a 2013 fifth-round pick on Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills. In two seasons with New Orleans, Stills caught 95 passes for 1,572 yards with eight touchdowns. His 2014 season included 63 receptions for 931 yards, both remain his career highs.
Heading into the 2015 offseason, the Saints were reportedly shopping anyone on their roster, looking to rebuild after a 7-9 season and their first missed playoffs season since 2012. The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, were looking to move on from linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and add speed to their wide receiver corps to complement Jarvis Landry while also looking to add depth as they looked for a trading partner to move on from wide receiver Mike Wallace.
As the new league year opened, the Saints and Dolphins agreed to a trade that would send Ellerbe and a third-round draft pick to New Orleans for Stills.
Now, ten years later, it is time to take a look back at the trade and what happened after.
Dolphins receive:
Kenny Stills, wide receiver
Steelers receive:
Dannell Ellerbe, linebacker
2015 third-round pick
Stills provided the Dolphins with the speed their offense needed, but was relegated to the third option on the depth chart after Miami used their first-round pick to select Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker. Stills appeared in 16 games in his first season with the Dolphins, starting eight of them, but only caught 27 passes for 440 yards with three touchdowns. He saw his role with the team grow in 2016, when he started all 16 games, catching 42 passes for 726 yards and nine touchdowns. He would play another three seasons in Miami, bringing his career total with the team to 63 games played (55 starts) with 164 receptions, 2,566 yards, and 24 touchdowns. After the 2018 season, Stills was traded to the Houston Texans as part of the deal that sent offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to Houston and returned several drafts picks to Miami.
Stills sent a little over a year-and-a-half with Houston before being waived during the 2020 season; he signed at the end of the season with the Buffalo Bills practice squad, but did not make an appearance. He spent the 2021 season back in New Orleans, initially on the practice squad before being added to the active roster. He finished his career with 316 receptions for 4,911 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Ellerbe’s time with the Saints did not get off to a great start, with the linebacker injured for much of the year - something that had been an issue with Miami as well, where he missed essentially all of 2014 on injured reserve. He...
