’Fins, Jaguars finalize Julius Thomas trade

The Miami Dolphins finalized a pair of trades Thursday afternoon, acquiring tight end Julius Thomas from the Jaguars and sending left tackle Branden Albert to Jacksonville.

The trades had been brokered last month, but all parties needed to wait until the start of the NFL’s new league year to finalize the transaction. Miami receives a late-round pick in 2018 for Albert, and sends a 2017 seventh-round pick to Jacksonville for Thomas, a Tokay High graduate.

Both Albert and Thomas have passed physicals, and agreed to restructure the terms of their existing contracts. However, the terms of those deals are unknown.

Thomas was guaranteed $3 million of his $7.1 million salary for the 2017 season, which includes a $100,000 workout bonus. He was slated to make $8.6 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019.

The Dolphins were planning to release Albert on Thursday, which would have cleared $7.2 million in salary cap space, but the Jaguars notified Miami that they had interest in a trade. Albert’s contract runs through 2018.

Adding the 6-foot-5 Thomas, who turns 29 in June, provides Miami’s offense a seam threat they lacked last season. Thomas caught 30 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns in the nine games he played in 2016.

In 2013 and 2014, he was considered one of the NFL’s top up-and-coming tight ends after catching 108 passes for 1,277 yards and scoring 24 touchdowns over those two seasons with the Denver Broncos.

During that productive run, Dolphins coach Adam Gase was Thomas’ offensive coordinator.

Laremy Tunsil, the Dolphins’ 2016 first-round pick, will replace Albert as Miami’s starting left tackle a year after blossoming as the Dolphins’ starting left guard.