The Ravens have traded for Chicago Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed Monday, adding the NFL’s leading tackler a day before the league deadline.

Chicago will reportedly receive a second-round pick in 2023 and the higher of the Ravens’ two fifth-round choices next year, along with reserve inside linebacker A.J. Klein.

Smith, a two-time All-Pro, has an NFL-best 83 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks, four tackles for loss and two interceptions this season. He’s expected to pair with Patrick Queen in the middle, giving the Ravens one of the NFL’s fastest inside linebacker duos, and solidify a position that has ailed the defense at times.

The Ravens’ front office looked for an upgrade at inside linebacker after last season, reportedly offering perennial All-Pro Bobby Wagner a deal comparable in value to the five-year, $50 million contract he ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Rams. Josh Bynes and Queen have been uneven in their second year together as starters, with the 33-year-old Bynes limited by his average range and a recent quadriceps injury and 23-year-old Queen struggling early.

The blockbuster trade for Smith gives the Ravens one of the NFL’s best run-stopping linebackers and a potential long-term starter at a hallowed position in Baltimore. He’s tied for second in the NFL in stops this season, according to Pro Football Focus, which the analytics site defines as an offensive gain on first down that is kept to less than 40% of the line to gain, less than 50% of the line to gain on second down, and any third- or fourth-down play kept without a first down or touchdown.

Through eight games, Smith’s on track to set or tie career highs in tackles, sacks and quarterback hits. He also led all regular Bears contributors with a team-best 4.6% missed-tackle rate, according to Pro Football Reference, an asset on a Ravens defense that’s struggled in space. In coverage, Smith’s passer rating allowed in coverage (55.3) was the second best on the team, according to PFR. (He’s graded out as a poor pass defender in 2022 according to PFF, though he had strong grades in coverage the past two years.)

Smith, the No. 8 pick in the 2018 draft, is in the final year of his rookie contract. With the Ravens expected to designate quarterback Lamar Jackson with the franchise tag next offseason if the sides can’t agree to a long-term deal, their hopes for retaining Smith could rest on his openness to a long-term deal. If he signs a significant free-agent contract elsewhere, the Ravens could recoup a compensatory pick in the 2024 draft.

The Ravens’ calculations on Smith could affect their handling of Queen, the 2020 first-round pick who’s shown flashes of star potential over 41 up-and-down starts. The Ravens will likely have until May to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year option on Queen’s rookie deal, which runs through 2023.

In trading for Smith, the Ravens sacrificed only a sliver of their limited salary cap space. According to ESPN, the Bears will take on the majority of Smith’s remaining salary for this season, leaving Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta with some financial flexibility as he considers other roster upgrades ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m trade deadline.

“I know Eric and I know how Eric is,” coach John Harbaugh said shortly before Fox Sports first reported the Ravens’ trade for Smith. “I wouldn’t be honest to say he hasn’t talked to me about what he’s trying to do or what he’s thinking about doing or what you can do, but it takes two to tango. So we’ll see how that all goes. But you never know.”

Smith now has a week to prepare for the Ravens’ “Monday Night Football” matchup against the New Orleans Saints, their final game before a Week 9 bye. He’ll join a talented but inconsistent defense flush with first- and second-round talent, including Queen; outside linebackers Odafe Oweh, Tyus Bowser and David Ojabo; cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters; and safeties Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton. (Williams and Ojabo are still recovering from injuries and are not expected to play Monday.)

The Ravens, hanging on to their lead in the AFC North, have been aggressive at the deadline under DeCosta, but the reported package for Smith represents his biggest swing yet. In 2019, the Ravens traded inside linebacker Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for Peters. In 2020, they parted with a third- and fifth-round pick to acquire defensive end Yannick Ngakoue from the Minnesota Vikings.

Smith will arrive in Baltimore with similar expectations. He recorded 607 tackles, 47 tackles for loss, 16 1/2 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, 20 passes defended and seven interceptions over 4 1/2 seasons with the Bears. He missed just four games over his Bears career and played every defensive snap for Chicago this season.

Smith emerged as a possible trade target before the season after he staged a hold-in during Chicago’s training camp amid stalled contract negotiations. He made a public request for a trade, saying in a statement that the team didn’t value him and refused to negotiate in good faith. Smith and Bears general manager Ryan Poles eventually came to an understanding that he would play this year for the Bears without a new contract, and he entered the season as one of four team captains.

He’ll leave a Bears team mired in another rebuild for a Ravens team with Super Bowl ambitions.

Chicago Tribune contributed to this article.

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Note to readers

Tuesday is the deadline for submitting letters related to the Nov. 8 election. To submit a letter, please fill out the online form at www.eastbaytimes.com/letters-to-the-editor.

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Choose Lopez
for EBMUD board

Corina Lopez is the best candidate for director, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Ward 7 (Castro Valley, Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, parts of San Leandro and San Ramon).

Corina was a trustee for San Leandro Unified School District and serves on the San Leandro City Council. She serves several organizations that address natural resource conservation, energy, public lands and public waters policies. She has professional experience in fiscal management and software development. She recently completed a fellowship in water policy.

A public servant with elected experience is needed as a champion for EBMUD ratepayers. Corina’s expertise is needed to implement viable solutions to ensure equity in water quality and availability for EBMUD’s customers.

We know firsthand that Corina responds when a constituent has questions. Corina Lopez is the best candidate for director, EBMUD, Ward 7.

John and Maureen Forney
San Leandro

Thao is most qualified
to lead Oakland

We’re financial professionals and elected officials. It’s our duty to serve the taxpayers. We’re also proud supporters of Councilmember Sheng Thao for Oakland mayor because she’s the most qualified and effective candidate running.

We’re responding to false attacks that Sheng is somehow unqualified, an age-old tactic used against women candidates. Other candidates are perpetuating this false narrative.

We know from working with Sheng that her knowledge and experience will allow her to meet the needs of Oakland and get the city back on track. Sheng’s understanding of property taxation, finance and budgets is above and beyond most elected officials.

We’ve worked with Sheng on essential policy matters and funding related to public safety, housing, and street and park maintenance. Sheng’s collaboration with county and state leaders has secured millions to support affordable housing, homelessness services, and disadvantaged youth.

We encourage you to support the most qualified mayoral candidate: Sheng Thao.

Fiona Ma, state treasurer; Phong La, Alameda County assessor;
Melissa Wilk, Alameda County auditor-controller

Yes on Prop. 31 to keep
kids tobacco-free

The scent of a strawberry-flavored e-cigarette wafts to your nose as you open the door to the school bathroom. A group of students sees you walk in and offers you a vape. They tell you it will help you relieve stress and calm your nerves. You’ve been taught that smoking is bad for you, but it can’t really be that bad if everyone else is doing it, right?

Now, over 2 million high school and middle students use e-cigarettes and flavor is a key reason. In fact, 81% of kids who have ever tried tobacco started with a flavored product.

As a member of the California Emerging Leaders Council for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, I’m urging voting yes on Proposition 31 because it will ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and prevent the next generation of Americans from becoming victims of tobacco addiction and disease.

Ananya Pinnamaneni
San Ramon

Prop. 30 will speed
electric car conversion

Your article – “Prop. 30 stumbling in new state poll” (Page A1, Oct. 27) – shows that Gov. Newsom is key. He claims that Proposition 30 is a power grab by Lyft. Well, Proposition 30 will make EVs more affordable to Lyft drivers, but also to all the other drivers in the state.

Gasoline cars are going the way of Kodak cameras. The only question is whether they will go away fast enough to avoid climate catastrophe. Of course, if you like gas cars’ noise, exhaust, slow acceleration, oil changes, auto repairs and high fuel costs, it’s your choice. Proposition 30 will help the rest of us go electric, and pave the way for clean air and a healthy future.

As for Gavin Newsom – he doesn’t want to rile up the billionaires who will be taxed under Proposition 30, and who he will need for his presidential campaign. We should ignore him and vote yes on Proposition 30.

Jack Fleck
Oakland

Song predicted our
struggle for democracy

In 1964 Simon & Garfunkel released a song that was prophetic, “The Sound of Silence.” Specific words in the song apply to Trump’s spineless supporters in Congress and outside of Congress: “Silence like a cancer grows” and “And no one dared disturb the sound of silence.”

Trump’s supporters don’t have the guts to contradict him (re: impeachment twice, false stolen election, the Jan. 6 attempt to overthrow our government). As a result, the “cancer” of hatred, lies and violence keeps growing.

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Click here for a complete list of our election recommendations.

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Berkeley’s proposed tax on empty homes is premised on the idea that landlords are holding their units off the market to try to force up rents. The problem is that there’s no data to support that.

Measure M on the Nov. 8 ballot would tax housing units that are vacant for 182 days in a year to pressure landlords to rent out the homes. In a city with a low vacancy rate, this measure is a solution in search of a problem. Voters should reject the measure.

The tax would be $3,000 the first year and $6,000 for subsequent years for units in duplexes, condominiums, single-family homes and townhouses. For all other units, the tax would be $6,000 the first year and $12,000 in subsequent years.

The measure contains a list of exemptions, such as homes under construction and owners who use the property as their primary residences. City officials estimate that, after those exemptions, there are 1,100 rental units that would be affected.

Using those numbers and assuming landlords, when faced with the prospect of fines, would place some of the units back on the market, Berkeley officials estimate the city would collect between $3.9 million and $5.9 million annually for the general fund.

But the purpose of this measure should not be generating new tax revenues, it should be increasing the housing supply. Given that, it’s disappointing that backers of the measure did not put more effort into understanding why those empty housing units are not being rented out. Rather than a stick, what might be called for here is a carrot in the form of assistance to landlords who cannot afford necessary repairs.

Only five of the nine council members voted to put Measure M on the ballot, which by itself says something about how shaky the concept is. Among the many arguments, backers suggested that property owners might be holding older units vacant to drive up rents in newly constructed buildings. That intuitively makes no sense.

The underlying implication of Measure M is that there are too many vacant units in the city. Actually, Berkeley and the rest of the Bay Area’s problem is not that the housing vacancy rate is too high, it’s that it’s too low.

As a newly released draft of Berkeley’s Housing Element update points out,  “A certain number of vacancies in a community is necessary to moderate housing costs, provide some level of choice for households seeking housing, and provide incentive to keep units in decent condition.”

It turns out that the proportion of units for sale and units for rent are lower in Berkeley than in Alameda County and the Bay Area. That said, council backers of Measure M deserve credit for only targeting homes that have been sitting off the market for months.

But if they really wanted to help solve Berkeley’s and the region’s housing crisis, they would speed up the city’s slow approval of new construction. That’s the real culprit — and Measure M does nothing to address it.

The Dolphins seemingly got some good injury news Monday when coach Mike McDaniel said left guard Liam Eichenberg will be sidelined with a knee injury, but seemed to say the injury isn’t season-ending, and said right tackle Austin Jackson, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, will return to practice this week.

If and when both return it’ll be the first time since the opener the Dolphins have had their starting offensive line intact. For the record, the offensive line has done some of its best work recently. The Dolphins have rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the last four games, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has only been sacked twice and taken three hits.

McDaniel was asked about a report that said Eichenberg, the second-year player from Notre Dame, sustained a MCL (medial collateral ligament) injury.

“I can confirm that,” McDaniel said, adding the injury was “on the positive side of bad news.”

Eichenberg, drafted as a tackle and switched to guard this year, was injured late in the third quarter on Tagovailoa’s 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki.

Eichenberg admitted last week the transition to guard has been difficult. But McDaniel said Eichenberg played his two best games in the last two weeks, perhaps coincidentally when left tackle Terron Armstead returned from a toe injury.

Robert Jones replaced Eichenberg against the Lions and played 15 snaps. Jones could be the starter until Eichenberg returns.

Jackson, the starting right tackle who was injured in the opener against New England, has been on injured reserve. He returned to practice last month, starting a 21-day window after which he either must be placed on the 53-man roster or on season-ending injured reserve.

Jackson has been replaced by Greg Little and, most recently, Brandon Shell.

McDaniel said he’d be “ultra conservative” with Jackson adding it’s “very unlikely” he’d play this week at Chicago.

McDaniel has nothing to offer on trade deadline activity

The Dolphins were mentioned by NBC’s Peter King among the teams possibly interested in trading to acquire Denver edge rusher Bradley Chubb, but Chubb, who is in the final year of his contract, would come with a $7 million rental fee.

The trade deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Predictably, McDaniel didn’t delve into trade deadline specifics Monday saying he’s focused on the current roster and the next opponent.

“Right now, I’m exclusively a football coach,” he said, “and we have conversations where I’m focused on our team as it stands and the Chicago Bears, who are going to be trying to beat us here in a day less than a week.”

The Dolphins’ pass rush could use a boost. They had one sack and four hits on Lions quarterback Jared Goff. The pass rush help, theoretically, could come from the front end or the back end. Addressing the latter, McDaniel said he doesn’t expect cornerback Byron Jones (Achilles) to be activated this week. And McDaniel reiterated he’s not focused on the trade deadline.

“I’m focused on team, I’m very happy with our team,” he said. “And if there’s adjustments that do unfold, they will be with the best interest for the Dolphins’ organization. But I’m not even worried about that, at this point.”

Armstead does it again

Armstead, the three-time Pro Bowl selection and nine-year veteran, shut down a young phenom for the second consecutive week as he silenced Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick of the draft out of Michigan on Sunday.

Hutchinson ended with one tackle, no sacks, no quarterback hits, hurries or pressures. Hutchinson entered the game with 18 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

Armstead, who is battling a toe injury, returned from a one-game absence the previous week against Pittsburgh and held outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who entered the game with 6.5 sacks, to one tackle and no sacks.

It’ll be interesting to see how Armstead influences Robert Jones. In the last two games Armstead helped Eichenberg solidify his play.

Special teams improved, but had blemish

Special teams concerns still exist but things improved Sunday despite some chicanery by the Lions.

Detroit converted a fake punt into a first down in the second quarter on a direct snap that gained 13 yards on fourth and two from the Lions’ 33-yard line. The possession resulted in a 33-yard field goal and a 27-17 Detroit lead.

However, kicker Jason Sanders was 1 for 1 in field goal attempts and remains perfect on attempts of 50 yards or less. Punter Thomas Morstead only punted once and it put Detroit inside its own 20-yard line.

Wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. returned punts and was good with two for 24 yards, while running backs Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds shared kickoff return duties.

And the Dolphins’ return teams put in good work.

Overall, it was a good showing for an area that’s had recent issues.

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The Ravens significantly improved their team by trading for Chicago Bears inside linebacker Roquan Smith on Monday, as they finally have a game-changer on defense in the prime of his career.

The Ravens don’t have a history of making major trades during the season, which makes this move even more surprising. But with the move, it’s apparent general manager Eric DeCosta believes the Ravens are serious contenders.

ESPN reported that the Ravens gave up second- and fifth-round draft picks for Smith, who is in the final year of his rookie contract. According to ESPN, the Ravens owe him just $575,000 over the remainder of the season with the Bears agreeing to pay Smith the bulk of his remaining salary. According to one highly respected league agent I spoke with, he thought the Bears would get a first-round pick for Smith.

It’s not clear if the Ravens have worked out a new, long-term deal with Smith — DeCosta did not respond to numerous text messages or phone calls Monday — but his addition will have a significant impact. The Ravens have lacked a legitimate presence inside all season. Third-year weakside linebacker Patrick Queen has improved, especially with blitzing and rushing the passer, but he’s still not a complete linebacker.

Middle linebacker Josh Bynes is 33 and has shown signs of slowing down, leaving the Ravens without an inside linebacker strong enough to fight off blocks and quickly take the proper pursuit angles.

That changes with Smith, who is still just 25.

Smith was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Georgia, where he was the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. In 69 career games with the Bears, he had 608 tackles, 16 1/2 sacks and seven interceptions.

In college, Smith was known for his recognition and ball awareness, and at 6 feet 1 and 232 points, he can cover any tight end or running back. That was an area of major concern for the Ravens, who didn’t have any linebackers who could fill that role.

Despite demanding to be traded in August because of stalled contract negotiations, Smith leads the NFL this season with 83 tackles to go with 2 1/2 sacks, four tackles for losses and two interceptions.

The Ravens desperately needed an impact player on defense. In their three losses this season, they have blown three double-digit fourth-quarter leads. Remember when they allowed four fourth-quarter touchdowns against Miami?

Cornerback Marcus Peters and safety Marcus Williams were the Ravens’ only proven game-changing players on defense, and Williams is out for an extended time with a wrist injury. But Smith changes that dynamic. He’ll help reshape the defense, and will the return of outside linebackers Tyus Bowser and rookie David Ojabo, both of whom are expected to be back on the field soon after recovering from Achilles tendon injuries.

Bowser is a complete linebacker, someone who can cover but also set the edge against the run. Ojabo, the team’s second-round pick out of Michigan, is expected to improve the pass rush and should be a complement to veteran outside linebacker Justin Houston.

If it works out, the linebackers, once a position of weakness, can become a strength.

The addition of Smith was a big, bold move.

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With an NBA that is somewhat upside down at the moment, including the defending champion Golden State Warriors arriving Tuesday to FTX Arena winless on the road, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra struck a more optimistic tone after Monday’s practice.

Two days after questioning his team’s cohesion following a road loss to the previously winless Sacramento Kings, Spoelstra said there still have been enough encouraging moments during this 2-5 start to foster hope.

“We’ve seen the vision of what it can look like,” he said. “We just have to get to that more consistently. And it takes intentional thought and collective commitment to do that, which we’re fully capable of.

“At least we know what it can look like. There’s teams in the league that don’t have that vision and haven’t been able to put together a lot of quality minutes. We have. We’re closer than we are further away from it. But when you add losses to it, sometimes it can feel like you’re far away. But we’re not that far away.”

Spoelstra said Monday was a forward-thinking session, with three games in four nights to follow, including Wednesday at home against the Kings and Friday on the road against the Indiana Pacers.

“Today was all about just solutions and continuing to get better as a basketball team,” he said. “There’s quite a few teams that are trying to figure it out. That’s it. It’s the beginning of the season. We have an urgency right now to get to our identity more consistently.”

With 13 players returning from last season’s roster, the expectation was of picking up where leaving off as Eastern Conference regular-season leaders.

“One way or another, whether you’re bringing back a similar crew in different kinds of roles and different starting lineup, a slightly different rotation, it’s going to be different,” Spoelstra said. “You have to develop trust. That’s what the regular season is for. It’d be the same if you brought in eight new faces. You’ve got to start over each year, and not assume anything, not skip steps. And that’s all we’re doing right now.”

Shot menu

Among the Heat’s adjustments has been to the elevation of Tyler Herro into the starting lineup. Herro twice this season, including with his season-high 22 in Sacramento, has attempted 20 or more shots in a game this season. By contrast, the single-game highs for the team’s other primary scorers are 17 for Jimmy Butler, 16 for Bam Adebayo, 15 for Mac Strus and 13 for Kyle Lowry.

“You give the ball,” Lowry said of Herro. “Most games, he’s going to shoot the most times. He’s going to be our most-field-goal attempts guy, and we have no problem with that. That’s what he does.

“So it changes the way I play, the way Jimmy plays, Bam plays. It changes the way play, because he’s such an effective scorer. So let him keep going and we’ll figure it out after that.”

Additional seasoning

With undrafted rookie Jamal Cain leaving the Heat for their G League affiliate over the weekend, Spoelstra said the plan eventually will be the same for guard Dru Smith, the team’s other two-way player, and possibly for first-round pick Nikola Jovic, as well.

“It’s important. He had a good practice while we were in Sac,” Spoelstra said of Cain. “But other than that, now once you’re getting into the season, that’s the plan, to spend time there, at training camp and games. All that will be really important for his development.

“And then he’ll be spending time here. We’ll send Dru. We’ll work out that schedule. And then if we get fully healthy, there might be some good opportunities for Niko to get there, as well.”

Two-way players can be on the NBA active roster a maximum of 50 games during the regular season. Cain has been active for two, Smith for all seven.

Two still out

While center Dewayne Dedmon was back at practice after missing the two games due to a foot ailment and an illness, both guard Victor Oladipo (knee) and center Omer Yurtseven (ankle) did not participate in Monday’s practice and later were declared out for Tuesday’s game.

Oladipo and Yurtseven have yet to play this season. Jovic and 42-year-year captain Udonis Haslem took Dedmon’s minutes for the two games he was out.

For the Warriors, former Heat forward Andre Iguodala (hip) and guard Donte DiVincenzo (hamstring) are out.

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Orlando Magic second-year guard Jalen Suggs could return from an ankle injury Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Suggs was listed as questionable on the team’s Monday evening injury report.

He’s been sidelined since spraining his right ankle in the loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 21.

This story will be updated.

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.

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A chaotic scene occurred Saturday night in Maryland after a gun scare interrupted a basketball game featuring Bronny James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James.

With the clock winding down in a game between James’ Sierra Canyon, of Los Angeles, and local team DeMatha Catholic, a fight broke out in the stands and someone yelled “gun,” leading to the game stopping and the players running off the court for their own safety.

The game was not resumed after the incident, but police told TMZ Sports that no weapon was found after a “thorough search” was conducted.

In an Instagram story, Bronny James lamented that “high schoolers can’t even hoop in peace now a days.”

Both teams skipped scheduled games on Sunday at the same event.

Bronny James, a senior, is one of the top recruits in high school basketball, but has not yet decided where he will play or train next year, likely with an eye on the 2024 NBA Draft.

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Do it, Chris Grier.

Trade for Bradley Chubb.

Get the pass rusher this defense lacks, the front-seven havoc-maker every contending team needs and the fourth-quarter closer every quarterback fears.

The NFL’s trade deadline is Tuesday, and Chubb is the big name left on the market after a loud Monday. Grier, the Miami Dolphins general manager, has to be at least tempted by the possibilities if the cost isn’t a first-round pick, as one league source said it definitely won’t be.

Baltimore reportedly got Chicago linebacker Roquan Smith for second- and fifth-round picks (and a linebacker) Monday to shore up their leaky defense (and offer the Dolphins a well-scheduled game in Chicago on Sunday). Smith leads the league in tackles and ranks second in tackles over the past five years.

That’s the kind of move aspiring teams make, the kind the Dolphins should be considering themselves. It helps set the market for other moves, too.

Chubb isn’t as productive or healthy as Smith. But he plays a different role, and his 5 ½ sacks this season wouldn’t just lead the Dolphins. It would nearly lap them, as second-year edge rusher Jaelan Phillips leads the team with three sacks.

Did you see Detroit quarterback Jared Goff survey the field while sipping tea in Sunday’s first half? What happened to the Dolphins’ blitzing pass rush led the way to a second-half resurgence last year?

The Dolphins rank tied with four teams for 19th in the league with 15 sacks. That doesn’t tell the full story, though, as they have the sixth-most passes thrown against their defense. They rank 26th in sacks-per-attempt.

If it’s natural to say the Dolphins need help in the secondary with safety Brandon Jones out for the year and cornerback Bryon Jones not coming through the door yet, it doesn’t seem there’s an impact defensive back on the market.

There’s an impactful pass rusher who can lessen the burden on the secondary, though. Chubb can bring the Dolphins defense what no player has since Cameron Wake. He can be that insurance commercial character “Mayhem,” who causes cars to crash, houses to topple and parties to crumble.

There’s no reason Phillips won’t be that kind of player with time. Maybe Emmanuel Ogbah finds his game, gets his recently injured back healthy or solves whatever has limited him to one sack in seven games and zeroes across the stat sheet against Detroit.

The Ogbah issue is compounded by the four-year, $65 million contract the Dolphins signed him to last offseason. His $13 million signing bonus can be dealt with if you move on. The $16 million due him next year is another matter.

That’s just one legitimate hurdle in trading for Chubb. How do you fit him into a salary structure when you just paid Ogbah to be that guy? That’s a legitimate move.

The trade cost? Well, again, Baltimore’s trade helps sets that. Consider, too, Denver general manager George Paton traded Von Miller for a second- and third-round pick last year to the Los Angeles Rams in a similar situation.

“Miller was older, but Chubb has health issues,’ the source said.

Chubb is just 26, just in his fifth year, but only played four games in 2019 and seven games last year due to injury. Another reason the price won’t be prohibitive in this deal.

This would be the Tyreek Hill trade for the defense. The pass rush is missing this season. Veteran Melvin Ingram looked to provide a spark in September. He had four total tackles in October.

Is the beat-up secondary not making quarterbacks hold the ball? Is the blitzing strategy that worked last year not happening?

The real question for the Dolphins is this: How close are they to contending for the Super Bowl? If their self-scouting says they’re close, if they think this team can take some final steps of consistency, then Chubb is the kind of player you grab now and figure how to pay later.

He is Mayhem on a defense without that element. Do it. Make the trade.

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