After the Miami Dolphins held on at the NFL trade deadline, Head coach Mike McDaniel said he has had discussions with general manager Chris Grier about potential deals, whether for traded or acquired players.

One of the players discussed in a possible trade with the Dolphins was clearly defensive lineman Calais Campbell, and he apparently almost got traded to one of his former teams, according to SI NFL reporter Albert Breer.

That team was the Baltimore Ravens, who Campbell played for from 2020-2022 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 the Cincinnati Bengals. “This deal fell through at the last minute.”

It’s unclear what exactly the Ravens were offering the Dolphins, who were in a tough situation with Campbell.

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

The fact that Campbell was doing it in the city where he played college football — he’s a UM alum — was a bonus, but the championship was what he wanted and the Ravens would clearly offer a better chance to get there. reach this stage.

But the Dolphins’ reluctance to deal him would make sense considering the organization’s tone in the wake of the strong performance against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday — yes, even in a loss.

Trading Campbell, even to make him feel better if this was indeed his final season in the NFL, would have been a classy thing to do, but it also would have been a signal that the team was giving up for the 2024 season. And they’re not close to doing that with nine games remaining.

Ultimately, the Dolphins decided against Campbell because having him in the lineup clearly gives them a better chance of winning.