NFL Trade Rumors: Miami Dolphins Ink Wide Receiver Jaylen Waddle to Massive Extension

The Miami Dolphins are sharing the love. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Dolphins have signed wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to a three-year, $84.75 million extension that includes a staggering $76 million guaranteed.

Jaylen Waddle recorded his third consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season in 2023, becoming the first player in franchise history to do so. He holds the Dolphins record for the most receiving yards in the first three years of a career, and set Dolphins rookie records for… https://t.co/xNgU1Lr0B7
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 30, 2024

The deal's $28.5 million per year annual average makes Waddle one of the league's five highest-paid wide receivers and ties him to the Dolphins for the next five seasons.

Waddle was the sixth overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, so he only became extension-eligible this offseason. Still, the Dolphins have clearly decided they've seen enough: Waddle is only 25 years old, and he has opened his career with three straight 1000-yard seasons. Through 47 games, he's averaged 72.0 receiving yards per game at an efficient 9.4 yards per target, and he's been particularly deadly while serving as a complement to five-time All-Pro Tyreek Hill.

For the foreseeable future, Hill and Waddle will continue to be one of the league's deadliest wide receiver tandems, with the recently signed Odell Beckham serving as a WR3. For at least 2023, the Dolphins have invested in their pass catchers to a nearly unprecedented degree. Hill has two years left on his four-year, $120 million contract signed in 2022. At the time, it made him the league's highest-paid wide receiver.

The Dolphins' next order of business will be deciding on the future of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. If he makes the most of his pass catchers this season, the Dolphins could be forced to sign the one-time Pro Bowler to his own record-breaking deal next offseason. If Tagovailoa has already won their confidence, they may be better off extending him as quickly as possible.