Could Colts Trade for Dolphins' Jalen Ramsey?

A big-name cornerback has hit the trade market, perhaps with a chance to land with the Indianapolis Colts.

Oct 20, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) gets a hand on Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson (5) during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

A big-time defensive back is hitting the trade market in the days leading up to this year's draft.

According to Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Greer, cornerback Jalen Ramsey will be parting ways with the team, as the Dolphins will now be searching for trade opportunities involving the veteran defender.

Breaking: The Dolphins and DB Jalen Ramsey intend to part ways.

GM Chris Grier said that when it comes to Ramsey's future with the team: "We decided it was probably in the best interest for all parties to move forward [separately].” pic.twitter.com/cyzWh7xctf

— ESPN (@espn) April 15, 2025

It's one of the bigger cornerback names to hit the trade market in recent memory, as Ramsey is a seven-time Pro Bowler with three All-Pro appearances, also finding his way to a Super Bowl victory in 2022 with the Los Angeles Rams.

Clearly, an appealing defensive piece in the secondary that could land some interest on the trade market, but is he someone the Indianapolis Colts should consider in a potential deal?

Of course, a name like Ramsey is sure to generate some intrigue, but there are a few glaring wrinkles to note that could make any potential acquisition much easier said than done; the two biggest aspects being his age and his contract.

For one, Ramsey will be entering his age-31 season for the 2025 campaign, and while he comes off a season in which he was a strong force for all 17 games on the boundary (16h-best-graded cornerback per PFF), it's fair to question whether the Colts, or any other team for that matter, would be getting elite production at the position if they were to acquire him.

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To pair with it, Ramsey is also getting paid a significant chunk of change. He's currently the third-highest paid cornerback in the NFL in terms of AAV ($24.1 million/year) with a deal that could extend to the 2028 season.

That's a big commitment for any team to hash out financially, and without production comparable to a top-three talent at the position, the steep investment for his services might be too much to make sense.

The Dolphins could always foot some of the bill for Ramsey's big contract in a potential trade to ship him out, but even with that option, the Colts have done their fair share of work to the secondary already this offseason, bringing in both Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum on three and four-year deals, respectively, tying up a significant batch of money and adding new talent to the position group as is.

Would Indianapolis want to double down in the secondary to spend more money, and inevitably trade assets to bring him into the cornerback room? It's hard to see that as the wisest possibility, even while the Colts still have $18 million in effective cap space to work with.

Instead, if the Colts were looking to add more firepower to their secondary, the more feasible outcome could be to attack that desire in next week's draft with a younger, cheaper contributor, rather than take a risk on a high-cost veteran.

The Colts could always have the chance to do something unprecedented, but as it stands right now, don't expect them to be frontrunners in the Ramsey sweepstakes.