The New Orleans Saints used a 2013 fifth-round pick on Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills. In two seasons with New Orleans, Stills caught 95 passes for 1,572 yards with eight touchdowns. His 2014 season included 63 receptions for 931 yards, both remain his career highs.
Heading into the 2015 offseason, the Saints were reportedly shopping anyone on their roster, looking to rebuild after a 7-9 season and their first missed playoffs season since 2012. The Miami Dolphins, meanwhile, were looking to move on from linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and add speed to their wide receiver corps to complement Jarvis Landry while also looking to add depth as they looked for a trading partner to move on from wide receiver Mike Wallace.
As the new league year opened, the Saints and Dolphins agreed to a trade that would send Ellerbe and a third-round draft pick to New Orleans for Stills.
Now, ten years later, it is time to take a look back at the trade and what happened after.
Dolphins-Saints trade recap:
Dolphins receive:Kenny Stills, wide receiver
Steelers receive:Dannell Ellerbe, linebacker2015 third-round pick
What happened with the picks?
Saints’ 2015 third-round pick (78th overall): P.J. Williams, cornerback, Florida State
Recapping the players’ careers:
Dolphins:
Stills provided the Dolphins with the speed their offense needed, but was relegated to the third option on the depth chart after Miami used their first-round pick to select Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker. Stills appeared in 16 games in his first season with the Dolphins, starting eight of them, but only caught 27 passes for 440 yards with three touchdowns. He saw his role with the team grow in 2016, when he started all 16 games, catching 42 passes for 726 yards and nine touchdowns. He would play another three seasons in Miami, bringing his career total with the team to 63 games played (55 starts) with 164 receptions, 2,566 yards, and 24 touchdowns. After the 2018 season, Stills was traded to the Houston Texans as part of the deal that sent offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil to Houston and returned several drafts picks to Miami.
Stills sent a little over a year-and-a-half with Houston before being waived during the 2020 season; he signed at the end of the season with the Buffalo Bills practice squad, but did not make an appearance. He spent the 2021 season back in New Orleans, initially on the practice squad before being added to the active roster. He finished his career with 316 receptions for 4,911 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Saints:
Ellerbe’s time with the Saints did not get off to a great start, with the linebacker injured for much of the year – something that had been an issue with Miami as well, where he missed essentially all of 2014 on injured reserve. He was also limited in 2016 with the Saints, ultimately playing 15 games (12 starts) over two seasons and recording 83 tackles, four sacks, three passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in New Orleans. He was released at the end of the 2017 preseason, signing with the Philadelphia Eagles late in the year. He appeared in three games, starting twice, with the Eagles, tallying eight tackles, as part of the Super Bowl winning team, his second title after having played 2009 through 2012 with the Baltimore Ravens before joining Miami.
Williams’ rookie season was lost due to a torn hamstring, landing him on injured reserve for the entire season, then he lost most of his second season when a concussion in Week 2 ended his season. In 2017, Williams began the year as the starter, but was demoted for undisclosed reasons during the season; he appeared in 16 games with six starts, recording 47 tackles, nine passes defensed, and two interceptions. He would spend five more seasons with New Orleans, appearing in 89 games over his career (34 starts), with 259 tackles, 33 passes defensed, eight interceptions with two touchdowns, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and four sacks.
Who won the trade?
This might be a draw. Still was a great addition for the Dolphins, but he only spent four years with the team before being traded away. Ellerbe may not have panned out for the Saints, but Williams was at least a solid player for seven seasons in New Orleans. Stills probably pushes this slightly in Miami’s favor, but it is not a blowout. Stills was part of what landed the Dolphins all the draft picks in the trade to the Texans, but it was Tunsil who was the key part of that deal.
