Jets Acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick Ahead of New League Year Trade
9: 00 a. m. ET — The New York Jets acquired safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins, Adam Schefter said, a move announced before the start of free agency and timed ahead of the new league year. The trade cannot be processed until the start of the league year on Wednesday, a procedural barrier that dictated the timing.
Fitzpatrick was originally the 11th overall pick in 2018 and was traded away in 2019 before returning to Miami in 2025; he is a 29-year-old, five-time Pro Bowl selection with 21 career interceptions. That sequence — 2018 draft pick, a 2019 trade, a 2025 reacquisition — frames why Miami moved him again now rather than earlier.
Minkah Fitzpatrick: Trade terms and immediate details
The Jets are sending a 2026 seventh-round draft pick to the Dolphins in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick. Club the pick handed to Miami will complete the trade framework, while formal processing awaits the opening of the new league year on Wednesday.
Contract terms and Jets’ defensive overhaul
Agent Drew Rosenhaus told Schefter that Fitzpatrick will sign a three-year, $40 million contract with New York. The addition arrives as the Jets continue to rebuild their defense; earlier this offseason they acquired nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat in a separate trade and have moved to reset their secondary ahead of free agency.
Miami Dolphins’ cap relief and roster implications
Miami will receive the 2026 seventh-round pick and is expected to realize roughly $5. 9 million in salary-cap savings from the move. Fitzpatrick had one year and $15. 6 million nonguaranteed remaining on his Miami contract, and the trade shifts that financial and roster responsibility to New York once the league year opens.
Once the new league year begins Wednesday at 9: 00 a. m. ET, the trade can be processed and Fitzpatrick’s three-year, $40 million deal with the Jets is expected to be finalized. If the league year opens on schedule, the transaction and contract will become official at that time.
