After more than two months since they first put the word out they were parting ways with Jalen Ramsey, the Miami Dolphins finally found their trade partner for the elite but aging and expensive cornerback on Monday.
The Dolphins are sending Ramsey, the 30-year-old seven-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, to the Steelers, according to Ramsey on social media.
It is not known what the Dolphins were getting in return, but ESPN reported that the Dolphins got safety Minkah Fitzpatrick back. Fitzpatrick was traded to Pittsburgh from the Dolphins in 2019.
The Dolphins were always in a precarious situation with the trade once general manager Chris Grier revealed that the team was shopping Ramsey back in April.
It was known trading Ramsey and his guaranteed salary of $24.235 million wouldn’t bring much back to the Dolphins. But by trading him after June 1, the Dolphins receive $9.9 million in cap relief. Had a trade been executed before June 1, the team was set to have Ramsey’s cap hit increase by $8.55 million, from the $16.66 million it was previously, just to unload him from the roster.
Once the NFL draft came and went in late April, solidifying that the Dolphins wouldn’t get a draft pick this year for Ramsey, it seemed reasonable to believe the front office would wait until June. But Grier said after the draft the Dolphins would trade Ramsey whenever they could.
“I think whenever those opportunities arise,” Grier said April 26. “We’ve had conversations through the (draft) with some teams about it, as well, so depending on what happens and if and when it’ll happen; whatever it is, we’ll make the deal at the appropriate time.”
Even as June arrived, that appropriate time still took weeks to arrive as the Dolphins finished their entire offseason workout, including organized team activities and mandatory minicamp before veterans report for training camp July 22.
Ramsey’s time in Miami comes to an end after two seasons. The Dolphins originally traded for Ramsey in March 2023, shipping a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams.
He then injured his knee on the second day of training camp ahead of the season, but returned to play 10 games and made his way to the Pro Bowl with three interceptions and five passes defensed while rarely tested in coverage on his side of the field.
Nonetheless, he was never pleased with how he was used in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme, which restricted him from moving around in his alignment as a versatile defensive back.
That was one difference that 2024 brought in Miami as new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver used Ramsey as an “ultimate chess piece.” Ramsey played all 17 games last season, recording two interceptions, 11 pass deflections and a sack.
Ramsey, an exceptional college talent at Florida State, was drafted with the No. 5 pick in 2016 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was traded to the Rams in 2019 and won the Super Bowl with Los Angeles at the end of the 2021 season.
When the Dolphins acquired Ramsey in 2023, it was an affirmation of a strong push to make a run to compete for a title for the coming years coming off the 2022 playoff appearance and first-round exit. But the Dolphins only did the same in 2023 and missed the playoffs last season.
Ramsey was initially paired with longtime Dolphins standout cornerback Xavien Howard his first season with the team. In 2024, Miami released Howard and signed fellow veteran Kendall Fuller.
Fuller was then released in February, and the Dolphins still have a major hole for starting-caliber cornerbacks ahead of nickel Kader Kohou after the draft. They are expected to pursue any of a number of remaining cornerbacks still available as free agents.
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