For the third time in his career, it looks like Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey is about to head elsewhere via the trade block. Just two seasons after acquiring him from the Rams and only eight months after signing him to a market-setting extension, the Dolphins seem determined to ship Ramsey elsewhere. Dolphins GM Chris Grier confirmed this week that they’re looking to trade the veteran corner and are working with the player to find a deal.
Grier wasn’t as forthcoming on the details of why, only to say it was a mutual decision and came after lots of conversations between both sides. Ramsey is turning 31 this year and the Dolphins owed him $24 million guaranteed, $4 million of which they already paid. It would make sense for Miami to try and shed older and expensive players to recalibrate the roster around QB Tua Tagovailoa’s pricy contract but Grier insists the team isn’t rebuilding. Cornerback was a need even with Ramsey on the roster but Grier maintained the goal is to win in 2025.
Regardless of the logic, a Ramsey deal seems imminent. Now it just seems like a question of where he’ll end up and what the Dolphins will get back.
Trade Logistics
Miami arguably got a bargain in its deal for Ramsey in 2023, giving up a third-round pick and backup TE Hunter Long. Despite missing seven games with an injury, he still rebounded and picked off three passes in the remaining 10 games, earning a Pro Bowl selection. He stayed healthy for all 17 games last season, picked off two more passes, knocked down 11 and finished as Pro Football Focus’ No. 10 graded cornerback.
The Dolphins will face challenges recouping that investment, however. Despite Ramsey’s production, teams tend to avoid aging cornerbacks like the plague. Any defensive back within shouting distance of 30 years old, let alone on the other side, is put under additional scrutiny. Athleticism is held at a premium, as a player can lose half a step and go from being above average to unplayable.
Age isn’t the only risk factor with Ramsey — he’s expensive too. The Dolphins reworked his contract last September to keep him as the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback following Denver’s deal for CB Patrick Surtain II. Ramsey is owed $25.1 million in 2025. Nearly all of that is guaranteed and $4 million of it has already been paid by the Dolphins in the form of a roster bonus. A new team would be taking on about $21 million, the bulk of which is in a $19 million option bonus that’s guaranteed and due on August 31.
That will naturally constrict the potential suitors for Ramsey, even with teams that could use help at cornerback. Another factor will be Ramsey’s reputation as a big personality. While he’s been pretty clean off the field and is a hard worker, he’s not afraid to speak his mind and has had multiple contract situations. Some teams won’t have an issue with it, others will.
Those are the negatives. The positives are that Ramsey is an accomplished veteran at a premium position — few defensive backs can say they are three-time All-Pros. Ramsey has the flexibility to move around the secondary and lessen some concerns about an athleticism dropoff. The cash bill may be high, but from a cap perspective, Ramsey’s deal is easy to take on for most teams thanks to the option bonus structure. There are no guarantees after 2025, meaning a new team isn’t committing to anything past this season.
The Dolphins might be able to eat some of the money Ramsey is due to facilitate a trade, but lessening the cash savings feels like it would defeat the purpose of trading him in the first place. My guess is a fifth-round pick will be the most teams will be willing to give up considering Ramsey’s age and salary. If the Dolphins are willing to take a 2026 pick, perhaps they can talk a suitor into making it a conditional selection that could become a fourth or even a third.
Potential Landing Spots
Las Vegas Raiders
Figuring out which teams make the most sense for Ramsey starts with the teams currently near the top in available cap space. Even if Ramsey counts just around $5 million against the cap for an acquiring team in 2025, the cash cost of over $20 million is significant and will price out plenty of teams. The Raiders check the budget box, though, with over $42 million in cap space at the moment, $34 million once signing their draft class is factored in.
Las Vegas also happens to have a significant need at cornerback. The team lost Nate Hobbs in free agency and just cut Jack Jones, who started 17 games last year. The current starting trio would be some combination of Eric Stokes, Jakorian Bennett, Decamerion Richardson or Darnay Holmes. On paper, that’s pushing to be the worst cornerback room in football.
The Raiders will almost certainly draft a corner or two but Ramsey would be a high-profile addition and a significant upgrade. Raiders DC Patrick Graham is well thought of in NFL circles and has the creativity to put Ramsey in the best position to make plays at this stage of his career. Raiders HC Pete Carroll is also no stranger to dealing with outspoken and competitive defensive backs, and Ramsey is the perfect player to help reinforce the edge Carroll wants to play with on defense.
Dallas Cowboys
If we go back to the 2016 draft, Ramsey is believed to be the player Dallas was most strongly considering taking instead of RB Ezekiel Elliott. Nearly a decade later, Ramsey could end up with a star on his helmet after all. The Cowboys’ cornerback situation is tenuous at the moment. DaRon Bland should return as the starter at one position but veteran nickel Jourdan Lewis left in free agency and there’s serious doubt about the health of Trevon Diggs. Dallas traded for former Bills first-round CB Kaiir Elam but that’s more of a dart throw than anything. Ramsey would be a huge upgrade.
The Cowboys have been fairly cost-conscious this offseason, so Ramsey’s salary could be a significant hurdle. That said, they’ve been aggressive in the trade market and are in the top five in available effective cap space at $32 million. An eventual extension for DE Micah Parsons will eat up a ton of cash, but it might actually bring his cap hit down for 2025, giving the Cowboys even more flexibility. Whether or not they choose to use it is another matter entirely, but trading for Ramsey would make some sense for the Cowboys.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
All else being equal, the Dolphins would prefer to trade Ramsey to an NFC team and avoid strengthening a potential playoff opponent. Ramsey also has strong ties to the state of Florida and would complete the trio if he landed in Tampa Bay. The Bucs have made no secret of their desire to get better in the secondary this offseason, conducting extensive research on the cornerbacks in this draft class.
However, Ramsey would give them a proven commodity to add to the secondary as they try to defend their NFC South title and make bigger waves in the conference. Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles runs a good system to take advantage of Ramsey’s talents, particularly as a blitzer and physical player. He would be another flexible chess piece to move around the secondary along with S Antoine Winfield Jr.
As far as the financial aspect, the Bucs have a roster that’s loaded with veteran players on high-cost deals. That said, they also have $27.8 million in effective cap space and have shown a willingness to spend cash now to save cap and open competitive windows if they think the time is right. Veteran teams with this much continuity are typically looking to win now, and trading for Ramsey would be a win-now move.
Atlanta Falcons
Improving the defense has been the top priority for the Falcons this offseason. Actually moving the needle in a tangible way has proved to be more difficult. Atlanta tried to be opportunistic and sign DE Leonard Floyd when he was cut by the 49ers, but that’s the biggest move they’ve been able to make so far. The draft will likely also focus on defense but the Falcons have just five picks — limited ammunition to make a splash.
Swapping some picks around to land Ramsey, who is far more likely to help in 2025 than any rookie the Falcons could get in the middle rounds, is one way the Falcons could get creative with the resources at their disposal. Falcons HC Raheem Morris knows Ramsey well from their time with the Rams together, and there’s a ton of mutual respect between the two men. That would help give Atlanta confidence that a swing for Ramsey will go better than some of the other veteran acquisitions they’ve made.
The biggest obstacle to acquiring Ramsey for the Falcons would be the cost. They don’t have many picks and they have just $5.7 million in available effective cap space. That’s technically enough to process a trade but the Falcons would almost certainly have to restructure a few other contracts to have enough wiggle room to operate during the regular season.
New Orleans Saints
On the surface, the Saints don’t seem like the most likely team to swing a trade for Ramsey. But there are a few under-the-radar reasons that could make New Orleans a dark horse contender. For starters, even if the Saints should be treating the 2025 season like a rebuilding year, the organization seems allergic to that thought. The fanbase is getting restless and jobs could be on the line, so expect GM Mickey Loomis and HC Kellen Moore to try to win as many games as they can.
The Saints also have a notable coaching connection with DC Brandon Staley, who overlapped with Ramsey for one of his best seasons in Los Angeles in 2020. Both men would certainly welcome a reunion and the Saints’ depth chart has an opening at corner after losing Paulson Adebo in free agency this offseason.
And while Ramsey is certainly expensive and the Saints have been tight to the budget for what seems like ages, New Orleans actually has over $20 million in effective cap space right now. They’re not completely out of the woods from a financial perspective, but thanks to the overall league salary cap growth, next year they shouldn’t be starting the offseason tens of millions in the red like they have the past several years. To put it shortly, they could afford Ramsey if they wanted.
Seattle Seahawks
Another sneaky team to watch for Ramsey, in my opinion, is the Seahawks. They know him well after competing against him twice a year in the NFC West for three-and-a-half years. His versatile skill set is a good fit in DC Mike Macdonald’s system and he’d give Macdonald another weapon to deploy on defense. Seattle currently has an open competition for the third starting corner slot, and Ramsey would lock that down.
Trading for Ramsey would also be a way for the Seahawks to pivot after an offseason that — if everyone in the building was being honest — has not gone according to plan. Seattle hasn’t had a ton of wins to point to after trading away the core of its previous offense and failing to address its biggest need on the offensive line. Ramsey doesn’t directly help the issues on offense but he’d be another star addition to a defense that could take a huge leap in Year 2. With $30 million in spending money available right now and 10 draft picks, the Seahawks can easily afford to take a swing like this.
Detroit Lions
The Lions feel like a team that should make a ton of sense as a Ramsey landing spot. Their secondary has been a weak spot for years and is still an area the team felt it needed to address this offseason, adding CB D.J. Reed on a major contract. Lions GM Brad Holmes was with the Rams when they traded for Ramsey and knows the player well. Detroit is searching for the last couple of pieces to put it over the top as a contender, and Ramsey wants to win at this stage of his career.
That said, I don’t think the Lions will be interested. They had a chance to trade for Ramsey already when the Rams sent him to the Dolphins and it made more sense two years ago than it does now. Detroit has the cap space to afford the Ramsey deal, but they’re also trying to be disciplined with big extensions looming for players like DE Aidan Hutchinson, S Kerby Joseph, WR Jameson Williams and more. Spending $20 million on Ramsey might mean saying goodbye to others down the line.
I think the Lions are also happy with the competition they’ve added to the secondary this offseason and last, with potentially more to come in the draft. Ramsey would be an upgrade but potentially not enough of an upgrade to be worth the price right now.
Los Angeles Rams
It’s rare to see teams trade for players they traded away but the Rams do unconventional things all the time. When they dealt Ramsey to Miami two years ago, they were pushing a hard reset button on the roster to get cheaper and younger. That has been wildly successful and the Rams look like contenders once again. That could prompt Los Angeles to shift back to making win-now moves, and one of the biggest remaining holes for the Rams is in the secondary where they have yet to truly land a replacement for Ramsey among all the late-round dart throws and veteran flyers they’ve taken.
Still, the Rams are trying to straddle two eras, with a few aging players from the Super Bowl team hanging on and a new wave of young stars who represent the future they want to build around. Los Angeles wants to be disciplined with how much cash it devotes to the former in order not to sacrifice keeping players from the latter bucket, which was the genesis of the conflict with QB Matthew Stafford this offseason. Trading a pick and paying $20 million for Ramsey would be a shift away from the youth movement and it’s not clear that the Rams are willing to do that yet.
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