Dolphins' return in Jalen Ramsey trade earns praise from NFL analyst who doubted they’d get anything of value for the star corner
It was long assumed that once it became publicly known that the Miami Dolphins and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey were going through a divorce that the team had lost all leverage on the situation. Miami was on the hook for a fully guaranteed salary, after all. And the whole world knew that the team and the […]
It was long assumed that once it became publicly known that the Miami Dolphins and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey were going through a divorce that the team had lost all leverage on the situation.
Miami was on the hook for a fully guaranteed salary, after all. And the whole world knew that the team and the player had no intent on working through their differences to try to make things work in 2025. With those kinds of dynamics out in the open, what kind of value could the Dolphins squeeze out of a parting via trade? Some felt Miami would have to eat significant salary just to get the money off the books. Others felt Miami may need to give the better draft asset back to offload the salary for the disgruntled corner.
None of that came to pass, of course. Ramsey, along with tight end Jonnu Smith, was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2027 fifth-round draft choice and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. And, with training camp around the corner, some are now starting to look at the full picture of the NFL offseason plan for teams across the league to assess the job that was one. For ESPN's Seth Walder, who graded the offseason of all 32 teams this week, the work Miami did to make lemonade out of a "life gives you lemons" situation deserved a nod.
'The Dolphins did better than I thought.'
Walder gave Miami a 'B-' for their entirety of offseason. The big concerns he outlines include the current state of affairs at cornerback (he's right!) and the value of the Zach Wilson contract. Miami did pay handsomely for Wilson's services versus other backups across the league, but their value interest in Wilson may be in part due to the intrigue of what Wilson could be as a hedge against Tua Tagovailoa's durability issues in a long-term sense.
As far as what Walder liked? The aforementioned haul for Ramsey took the top spot.
"Miami's biggest addition didn't occur until June 30. That's when the Dolphins traded Ramsey and Smith for Fitzpatrick and a late-round pick swap. It was a good move.
Ramsey backed the Dolphins into a corner with more than $20 million remaining in guaranteed 2025 money. And the Dolphins weren't even pretending he was going to be on the team this season. I thought Miami would barely get any return in which the acquiring team paid the large bulk of Ramsey's outstanding money. The Dolphins did better than I thought."
– ESPN's Seth Walder on the Dolphins' haul for Jalen Ramsey
Walder was a part of an ESPN panel that put together hypothetical trade offers for Ramsey in the first week of June. That story, which ran nearly a month to the day before Ramsey was actually traded, painted a grim picture for the Dolphins. Walder himself predicted Miami would send Ramsey and a 2027 sixth-round pick for just a 2027 seventh-round pick.
"The Chargers don't need Ramsey, but they have something some other teams don't: the cap room to absorb all of Ramsey's guarantees. The Chargers have a little less than $32 million in 2025 cap space but more than $118 million in 2026 cap space (the most in the NFL, per Roster Management System)," wrote Walder.
This proposal from Walder would have left Miami with a lesser draft pick and no player stepping into a role on the team in 2025 — making what Miami actually did get indeed a spectacular turn relative to his prior convictions.
Walder wasn't the only member of the panel skeptical of Miami's positioning. Dan Graziano proposed a 2026 sixth-round pick for Ramsey straight up, although he did state he felt it was more likely Ramsey would be released (with a fully guaranteed salary, no less). Benjamin Solak proposed Carolina send a 2026 fourth-round pick, which was comfortably the best offer of the panel.
Given the prior expectations, seeing Miami collect a younger player than Ramsey with something to give and the potential to be a long-term answer rightfully has Walder offering positive reviews for this part of Miami's offseason and provide the team with a respectable overall grade as they head into a pivotal 2025 season.
Dolphins make trades official and the transaction log reveals a key detail that will impact Miami’s rooting interest in the future
The fireworks came a few days early for the Miami Dolphins last week when the news of trades being agreed to with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants came to open July. Monday of this week didn't come with nearly as much excitement, but it did come with some necessarily formalities — which have […]
