The Miami Dolphins Are Trading For Rams All-Pro Cornerback Jalen Ramsey And Are Clearly All-In To Contend For A Super Bowl
The Miami Dolphins have been BUSY on the transaction wire of late. From picking up Tua Tagovailoa's fifth-year option to restructuring the contracts of Tyreek Hill, Terron Armstead and Bradley Chubb to free up tons of salary cap room for 2023.
Even after Tua's option was picked up, folks wondered if the Fins secretly intended to make a push for Lamar Jackson or, hell, Tom Brady. Now we know what all those maneuvers were building toward. JALEN RAMSEY.
Pretty minimal compensation to give up for a player of Ramsey's caliber, right? Hunter Long has done nothing of note that I can recall. Him plus a third-round pick? How many other teams are probably kicking themselves for not serving up a second-rounder? Wow.
What a freaking move by Miami. In an AFC loaded with high-end quarterback play, Ramsey and Xavier Howard give them arguably the best cornerback tandem in the conference. Their signing of Byron Jones from several years back didn't pan out, and rather than counting on their in-house options or exploring the free-agent market, it'll be Ramsey donning a Dolphins uniform for years to come.
Credit GM Chris Grier for being so proactive in recent years, swinging trades for the likes of Hill, Chubb and now Ramsey. Those are three legitimate blue-chip players at critical positions. Below are the latest Super Bowl odds from Barstool Sportsbook. The Dolphins and Rams were both listed at +3500. Once news of this Ramsey blockbuster deal broke, the Fins went down to +2800.
It's crazy how Miami is now taking on the Rams' "fuck them picks" philosophy — to be fair, they forfeited their 2023 first-rounder for tampering — and mortgaging future years of draft capital to try to win now. Mike McDaniel led the Dolphins to the playoffs in his first season and damn near beat the Bills on the road while dialing up plays for his third-string QB Skylar Thompson. The most critical factor going forward is if Tua can stay healthy after suffering multiple concussions last year. Obviously the Fins believe he can and believe in his elite performance from 2022 when he was on the field.
Ramsey is such a game-changer for Miami in any event. Not that someone with Ramsey's resume and versatility needs any sort of schematic familiarity to flourish, but he'll know Vic Fangio's system quite well, having played in a version of it under ex-Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley in 2020.
Damn this is awesome. Imagine what practices will look like with Howard and Ramsey facing off against Tyreek and Jaylen Waddle. SHEESH. You figured the biggest news in the NFL coming up would all have to do with free agency. Who needs that lameness? Ramsey to the Dolphins trumps just about anything we're likely to get on that front in the coming week or two.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok