The wait is finally over for the Miami Dolphins and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Trade rumors have been swirling for months, but now there is an answer.
The Dolphins are sending Ramsey to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a move that also includes the jettisoning of tight end Jonnu Smith.
Ramsey has already posted on X about the move. He said, “Break my own news!”
According to ESPN, “The Miami Dolphins have traded three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for three-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and a pick swap, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.”
In the pick swap, the Steelers get a 2027 seventh-round pick and the Dolphins get a 2027 fifth-round drat pick from the Steelers.
Ramsey gets a raise in Pittsburgh
According to Schefter, Ramsey will be getting a $1.5 million pay bump from the Steelers, bringing his 2025 salary to $26.6 million. That doesn’t make a ton of sense if you’re the Steelers as it’s not difficult to see that Ramsey is already overpaid.
Ramsey is entering his 10th season in the NFL and just signed a huge three-year, $72.3 million contract last September. If any other teams had an interest in taking that salary on, they certainly didn’t show it. The Dolphins only had to wait until June 1st to make his cap hit more palatable and even then it took a month.
He’s 30-years old and hasn’t passed the eyeball test in a few years. It’s not that Ramsey can’t play, but is he an elite, shutdown corner? I’m not seeing that these days.
Does this trade make the Dolphins better?
Fitzpatrick is returning to the team that drafted him in the first-round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers made a surprising trade for him in 2019 in a move that was a little shocking for both sides. First of all, teams don’t usually give up on first rounders a year after they were drafted, especially when they are good. And the Steelers do not throw first-round picks around like a drunken sailor with $1 chips at a Texas Hold ‘Em table.
Fitzpatrick is obviously a significant upgrade to a Dolphins secondary that now has to plug another hole with the absence of Ramsey. Even though everyone knew it was coming, they still need someone to step up and play corner. That, or they need to sign one off of the street, with names like Asante Samuel, Jr. being bandied about.
The addition of Smith in this deal creates another issue. It’s been widely reported that Smith wanted a better deal and wanted out if he wasn’t going to get it in Miami. He’s coming off his best season in which he made the Pro Bowl. His second half was particularly strong and he finished with 88 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns. And that leaves Julian Hill, Tanner Conner and Hayden Rucci as the remaining tight ends on the roster.
Sure, the Dolphins offense has plenty of firepower with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as their wide receivers, but it’s still not an offense that is in a position to take on water. Especially if that offense is expected to help compensate for a defense filled with question marks, despite ranking fourth-overall in the NFL last season.
Yes, the Dolphins get high-end safety in Fitzpatrick, but they had to lose two important starters to get him. Will this make the Dolphins an improved team? Only time will tell, but these are the kinds of issues that need to be addressed when you hand out big contracts willy nilly as Miami has done in recent years.
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