Joe Thuney's days with the New England Patriots may soon come to an end. A report from ESPN's Mike Reiss on Sunday really sparked up that discussion as he noted the star left guard, who was franchised earlier this offseason, was not close to a long-term extension with New England. Reiss also highlighted that it may not be out of the question for the Pats to entertain some offers for the 27-year-old, who was a second-team All-Pro selection last season.

One team that could fit the bill as a potential trade partner may be the Miami Dolphins. Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports on the eve of the NFL Draft that the Dolphins, who own a league-high 14 selections this year, have "given consideration" to a possible deal. Salguero adds that the idea of signing Thuney was something the Dolphins considered before free agency started, and once he was placed with the franchise tag by the Patriots, a trade was also discussed internally.

Thuney does have some leverage over New England in these contract negotiations. The club has about $1 million in space and Thuney's franchise tag will come in at just under $15 million. If Bill Belichick and company have reached the end of their negotiation with no contract signed or agreed upon, it would be wise to look into trading Thuney for draft capital and to clear up some much needed cap space.

For Miami, they are quite familiar with New England's operation, as head coach Brian Flores came up through the Patriots' coaching ranks before taking the Dolphins gig last offseason. Just in this free agency period alone Flores has targeted a number of players he's worked with during his days in Foxborough like Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts and Ted Karras.

If they are looking to improve an offensive line that ranked at the bottom of the league in Football Outsiders' adjusted sack rate, they do have the draft capital to do so by trading for Thuney.