The Miami Dolphins turned heads last week when news broke that the team and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey were mutually open to exploring trade possibilities. General Manager Chris Grier later confirmed the buzz during his annual pre-draft press conference, even hinting that parting ways with Ramsey might be in the best interest of the franchise both now and in the future.
“Replacing someone like Jalen is never easy,” Grier said. “He’s been a great player for us and likely headed to the Hall of Fame. But looking at where we are as a team, we believe this move gives us the best shot at success, both this season and beyond.”
Grier acknowledged that teams have already shown interest and, in a way, seemed to hint that a draft-day trade wasn’t off the table. Though he was directly asked about that possibility, his tone and openness about parting ways with Ramsey only added fuel to the speculation.
“You never know when trades will come together,” Grier said. “They can happen before, during, or even after the draft. Look at A.J. Brown — that deal happened mid-draft. If something happens, it happens. If not, we’ll adjust.”
As expected, most teams keep trade talks under wraps unless one of them chooses to speak out publicly. That’s exactly what happened when Rams GM Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay addressed the media and confirmed they’ve had conversations with Miami.
Snead said, “We’ve talked with Miami and agreed to revisit things after the draft. There are a lot of factors involved, like contracts and trade logistics. I’m not sure where they currently stand.”
McVay added, “Jalen’s an elite player and someone we know well. You never want to shut the door on adding someone like that. But as Les mentioned, our focus right now is the draft, and a lot of pieces would have to fall into place for something like this to happen.”
From a financial standpoint, moving Ramsey before June 1st wouldn’t make much sense for the Dolphins, who would take a $29.2 million hit — including a $12.5 million cap loss, per Spotrac. It’s likely that Snead and McVay are aware of this, given their comments on the complexities of the situation. Plus, teams don’t want to box themselves into a corner during the draft. Unless Miami believes this is the peak of Ramsey’s trade value or is eager to move on from him for other reasons, waiting could be the smarter play.
We may never know exactly why Ramsey wants out, but with veterans like Terron Armstead, Calais Campbell, and potentially Tyreek Hill also eyeing the exit, it’s hard to fault him. And you can’t blame Grier or head coach Mike McDaniel for taking a swing on a talent like Ramsey — especially considering the Dolphins only gave up a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to get him.