Jalen Ramsey Avoids Doomsday ACL Scenario With Meniscus Injury, But Reportedly Could Still Be Out Until December
Good to see Jalen Ramsey in good spirits after suffering a knee injury in Thursday's training camp practice. A meniscus is indeed nowhere near the horror that is a torn ACL, but the key here is that Ramsey could either get his meniscus shaved down, or undergo a full repair. Looks like it'll be the latter based on Ian Rapoport's report.
Schefty already broke down Miami's corner depth. Can't say I love the guys on the outside beyond Xavien Howard, not to mention Ramsey is more of a chess piece who plays inside, out, can align at safety/in the box at times. Seeing him in Vic Fangio's scheme with a pretty damn talented Dolphins defense around him was one of the underrated subplots I was really looking forward to at the beginning of this year. That's on hold for now unfortunately. Tough for Miami, too, considering they lost Byron Jones for all of last season and never saw him live up to the massive contract they paid him.
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Although it could've been a lot worse for Ramsey, he's going to miss half the season. That ain't good. Every single win you can pick up in the AFC is vital with how loaded the conference is. The Dolphins have a brutal start, too. They play away from home in Weeks 1, 2 and 4. In LA to face the Chargers to kick things off. Then a trip to New England, a home matchup with the Broncos and an AFC East tilt and Buffalo to cap the first month.
I love the direction the Dolphins are headed in overall. Fangio was one of the most important coordinator hires of the offseason. With Ramsey entering the fold from that trade with the Rams, Miami has a legit top-five roster assuming Tua Tagovailoa stays healthy.
Bottom line, I think Fangio is schematically creative enough to work around Ramsey's absence. Circling back to the depth chart, rookie second-round pick Cam Smith could very well be in line to start in Ramsey's stead.
Smith didn't play quite as well at South Carolina last year as he did in 2021 — he was banged-up a couple times during the season, to be fair — but he's a long corner with serious ball skills who should be able to hold his own opposite a high-end guy like Howard. Kader Kohou was a surprise UDFA breakout in '22 and has inside-outside versatility like Smith does.
Combine all those guys with a low-key top-flight safety in Jevon Holland, and it feels more and more likely that the Dolphins can weather the loss of Ramsey even for a long while. If Miami is in the playoff mix as expected, imagine the boost Ramsey's return will provide when, again, the AFC figures to be so hotly contested.
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