Joining Vic Fangio as 2023 Dolphins additions that will not lead to a long-term fit, Jalen Ramsey is on the trade block. Interested teams have a clear window to acquire the All-Pro cornerback — in what would be his third career trade — before and during the draft.
The Dolphins have let Ramsey seek a trade despite providing more guaranteed money — via a September 2024 extension (three years, $72.3MM) — soon after Patrick Surtain reset the cornerback market. A trade before June 1, however, would be pricey for the Dolphins, as $25.2MM in dead money (that is, if they do not eat any portion of Ramsey’s pay) would come their way. But the draft represents a natural trade window for the team to move off this recently authorized contract.
One potential suitor has emerged. Rams brass did not shut down the idea of reacquiring Ramsey two years after sending him to Miami.
“He’s a great player,” Sean McVay said, via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “We know him very well … we know him intimately. You would certainly never rule out the possibility of that. … There’s a lot of layers that would need to be worked out with a player of his magnitude, and some of the different things that accompany that. But you would never eliminate the possibility of adding a total stud.”
Les Snead has discussed trade parameters with the Dolphins, per Rodrigue, though this is merely teams touching base on trade-up or trade-down maneuvers ahead of the draft. The Rams could conceivably include Ramsey in such a move, if a pick-swap deal is to be considered. The team obtained a 2023 third-round pick and backup tight end Hunter Long for Ramsey in 2023. That represents a light return for a player pointed toward the Hall of Fame, and the Dolphins may not be able to fetch that; Ramsey will turn 31 this year.
The Rams have shown a willingness to reunite with corners they previously parted with. L.A. brought Troy Hill back via a trade during the 2022 draft, and the team re-signed Darious Williams after the Jaguars cut him last year. A Ramsey reunion would be a much higher-profile move, considering the nine-year veteran’s stature and contract. The Rams have two veteran deals (for Williams and Ahkello Witherspoon) on their payroll, but their CB group is not particularly costly right now. Rookie-deal presences comprise the rest of L.A.’s cornerback contingent.
While on the back nine in his career, Ramsey remains an upper-echelon corner. He earned Pro Bowl honors in a 10-game Dolphins 2023 debut, and while Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics did not churn out comparable numbers last season, Pro Football Focus slotted the boundary stopper 10th among CBs in 2024. Ramsey is also signed through 2028, via an extension that contains modest base salaries but option bonuses. Ramsey’s 2025 compensation is also guaranteed, complicating matters further for an acquiring team. Thus far, clubs are not open to paying the full Ramsey freight in 2025.
The Rams acquired Ramsey while building their Super Bowl LVI-winning nucleus, sending the Jaguars two first-round picks as he staged an in-season hold-in of sorts. That deal worked out for the Rams, who saw Ramsey earn back-to-back first-team All-Pro honors in his first two full seasons (2020, 2021) in L.A. The team gave him a five-year, $100MM extension before the 2020 season, but by 2023, it was looking to cut costs. Los Angeles sent that $20MM-AAV deal to Miami, as Ramsey sought more guaranteed money. Not only did the Dolphins eventually extend him, they approved a reworking that featured more guaranteed money upon initially trading for him.
Miami completed a similar reworking with Tyreek Hill‘s contract last summer, as the future elite speed merchant angled for a redone deal. Both players are now trade candidates, though both Mike McDaniel and Chris Grier have voiced expectations Hill will be back in 2025.