Why a Ramsey Trade Isn't Necessarily That Simple to Make

Miami Dolphins GM Chris Grier said he already has had discussions with some teams about a deal for the seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) warms up prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

While the questions of why and why now remain mysteries, the Miami Dolphins will be looking to trade Jalen Ramsey this offseason.

And that, GM Chris Grier says, is a mutual decision between player and organization.

Now comes the tough part.

Regardless of whether you want to believe that the Dolphins feel they'll be better off without Ramsey because of non-playing concerns — because what else would it be? — or that Ramsey wants out, the Dolphins are going to try to get the most they can out of a trade parner, which will be looking to pay as little as possible.

Complicating the issue is that Ramsey is in a position because of the extension the Dolphins gave him last summer — one in a series of moves that don't look so good in retrospect — to have a say in his next team.

While Ramsey technically doesn't have a no-trade clause in his contract, no team would want to trade for a player with no desire to play for them. And the Dolphins can't threaten to simply cut Ramsey becuase he's got about $25 million guaranteed next season.

As good a player as Ramsey has been, any team looking into acquiring him recognizes his tremendous set of various skills, his physicality, versatility, football acumen, but also will realize he's on the wrong side of 30, he's expensive and he's high maintenance — he was labeled "disgruntled" by NFL.com after he was traded from Jacksonville to the Los Angeles Rams and now this.

Again, anytime a player of Ramsey's caliber is looking at a third trade in less than five years, something is amiss.

And it's why the Dolphins are going to get nowhere near what the Jaguars got for him from the Rams, which was two first-round picks, and might be lucky to get the equivalent of what they gave the Rams, which was a third-round pick along with a third-year tight end (Hunter Long) who had done little in his first two seasons after being a third-round pick.

POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS

Because it's 2025 and speculation drives traffic, expect to see all kinds of trade scenarios being thrown out, some more ridiculous than others.

The most eye-opening one we've seen so far had the Dophins sending Ramsey, the 13th overall pick and a second-round pick in 2026 for wide receiver DeVonta Smith and the 32nd overall pick this year.

There are so many reasons this trade doesn't make sense, but we can start with the fact the Eagles just said goodbye to veteran cornerback Darius Slay, who was wildly popular but deemed too old and expensive but not would bring in Ramsey? And the Dolphins would add more payroll to their already-expensive wide receiver room?

One more thing about Ramsey and the Eagles: Remember his reaction after the Dolphins released Xavien Howard? Check out this tweet and the final comment, which doesn't mention Fangio by name but pretty clearly is about him.

Shid be crazy how stuff plays out sometimes but 1 thing ikno fa sho is that it was an honor teaming up with the GREATEST corner in @MiamiDolphins History in my opinion… ❌🔒

(I won’t ever forgive dude for not utilizing our full skillset!) pic.twitter.com/yoYlTLcnP6

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) February 23, 2024

So, yeah, sure Ramsey would want to be reunited with Fangio in Philadelphia.

There are a couple of connections to consider if we're looking at possible destinations, and those include the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, who both employ former Rams defensive coordinators — Raheem Morris and Brandon Staley, respectively.

Among the teams with ample cap space who could be a good fit are the Detroit Lions and maybe the San Francisco 49ers. The Arizona Cardinals also could decide they want to supplement the acquisition of Calais Campbell with secondary help, and finally the Las Vegas also have been mentioned as a possible destination.

TRADE REASONS NOT REVEALED

While Grier declined to provide the exact reason Ramsey would like to move to another team, he did say that the issue was not contract-related and the cornerback did not specifically ask for a trade — though agreeing to explore trade options is not that far removed from being the same thing.

Grier also made clear this situation has been brewing for a bit.

"After a couple weeks of discussions between ourselves internally and Jalen and his representation, we decided that it was probably in the best interests for all parties to move forward," Grier said. "I will say these decisions aren't done quickly and they're not taken lightly because we spent a lot of time this offseason working through this, talking through things. At the end of the day, Jalen did not ask for a trade. So we went through the process and just felt that after numerous conversations and then talking last week with Jalen and his agent, that it was best to move forward and it was in the best interests of the Miami Dolphins and for Jalen Ramsey."

This is where one has to wonder if it's not about the contract, why would Ramsey be willing to switch teams just two years after being acquired from the Los Angeles Rams and returning to the state where he played his college football (Florida State)? And why would it be in the best interests for the Dolphins to trade their most talented defensive player?

"Really those discussions I'll keep internally," Grier said. "I'm not going to get out here and talk about it. But we had a lot of discussions on it and from both sides and at the end of the day, we felt this is what was best for the Dolphins and for Jalen."

Grier said he already had had discussions with other teams about a Ramsey trade and didn't know whether a deal would be consummated before, during or after the draft.

The possibility of Ramsey even being on the roster in 2025 was brought up, and Grier didn't dismiss it out of hand, though the reality is that once this kind of story comes out, it's almost past a point of no return.

"Trades come together at all different times," Grier said. "You've seen from before the draft, day of the draft, during the draft. I think A.J. Brown was during the draft, it happened (when he was traded from Tennessee to Philadelphia). So, you know, when it happens, it'll happen. And if it doesn't, we'll deal with it then.

"Again, this was long discussions, I would say throughout the offseason. So this wasn't anything we rushed to and just said today, let's do this. So we're prepared if he's here, we'll deal with it and if he's not, we'll adjust as well. So we feel good about where it is. It's never easy to replace a player like Jalen. He was a good player for us, he's a good player, he'll probably be a Hall of Famer here. But for the Miami Dolphins going forward, we feel like this is the best chance to help us win, not only just this year, but in the future as well."

THE TRADE TIMING ISSUE

Ramsey has played the past two seasons for Miami after being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 in exchange for tight end Hunter Long and a third-round pick.

Ramsey has four years left on his contract, but his guarantees run out after 2025.

His salary for 2025 is $24.2 million, all guaranteed, though it's mostly bonuses with his base salary only $1.3 million, per Over The Cap.

Ramsey's cap number currently stands at $16.7 million for the Dolphins in 2025, but it would go to $25.2 million if he's traded before June 1 because his signing bonus no longer would be spread out over the next three years. That scenario would allow the Dolphins to get 2025 draft pick compensation.

The cap number would go down to $6.7 million (with the remaining $17.5 million on the books in 2026) if the trade went down after June 1, though it clearly couldn't involve 2025 pick compensation.