Jalen Ramsey recently laughed at a tweet suggesting he might be cut this offseason. The idea was comical because Ramsey knew very well that wasn’t an option for the cap-strapped Rams, who were looking to unload hefty contracts after a dreadful 5–12 season.
The “Eff Them picks” era was over for the Rams, and Ramsey used that to his advantage to land in his preferred destination of Miami. On Sunday, the Rams traded Ramsey to the Dolphins in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. That’s it for a three-time first-team All-Pro who ranked third on PFF’s 2022 grades for cornerbacks—behind only Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II.
Ramsey, 28, is still in his prime and will now join a defense featuring cornerback Xavien Howard, edge rusher Bradley Chubb and defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. It won’t take long for Ramsey to get acclimated with Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the architect of the now trendy two-high shell defense.
Ramsey played in a Fangio-like scheme with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris the past two seasons and with Brandon Staley, the Chargers’ coach who called defensive plays for the Rams in 2020. Ramsey will likely continue playing the “star” role for Fangio, which requires the defensive back to play various positions, including slot and outside cornerback. And if Ramsey starts to decline—he had some rough outings early in the 2022 season—he could have a Charles Woodson-like transition to safety, which probably made the Dolphins comfortable with adding guaranteed money to the final two years on Ramsey’s contract.
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The Rams didn’t get a first-round pick for a versatile star cornerback, and they should get dinged for that in trade grades, but that’s not what they were aiming for in this phase of unloading contracts and repairing a top-heavy roster.
Every player on the Rams’ roster, besides wide receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive lineman Aaron Donald, was probably available after the “Run it Back” season mercifully ended for the former champs. The Rams reportedly fielded trade calls for quarterback Matthew Stafford, although Rams general manager Les Snead recently called Stafford a pillar of the team.
And say Stafford was on the trading block, moving his massive contract after an injury riddled season was likely a daunting task, another reason why Ramsey sent cryptic tweets the past few months. Ramsey was the Rams’ lone available star player with value on the trading block. The writing was on the wall.
“If that’s the end, I went out with a bang,” Ramsey tweeted in January.
Ramsey had some leverage with the Rams determined to shed salary, and his contract gave him some say for his next landing spot. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported teams were scared off by Ramsey’s salary demands, and had it not been a team Ramsey was excited to join, the money might have been bigger. Ramsey reportedly received an additional $25 million guaranteed from the Dolphins.
As for the Rams, there’s not much excitement for a third-round pick and a tight end with one career reception in two seasons. And the Rams only created $5.6 million in cap space by trading Ramsey, according to OvertheCap.com. But now the Rams will clear the red line after the release of linebacker Bobby Wagner becomes official at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday when the new league year begins, and they’ll be in position to make splash moves next year. The Rams also recently released edge rusher Leonard Floyd and are looking to get rid of wide receiver Allen Robinson’s contract.
Sean McVay returned to the Rams for a seventh season knowing the team had plans to repair its salary cap, and it’s probably why he flirted with the idea of leaving coaching for a TV job. These Rams are no longer all in, and it will be fascinating to see how Snead constructs this 2023 roster for McVay. The Rams, however, do have three Day-2 picks to improve the roster and were pleased with the development of cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick last year as rookies.
The Dolphins have taken over as the league’s most aggressive team with recent blockbuster trades for Ramsey, Chubb and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Ramsey against Hill in training camp will be a spectacle for Dolphins fans and beat reporters in the summer.
But before Dolphins GM Chris Grier replaces Snead as the president of the “Eff Them picks” club, he might need one more mega trade such as one that involves a star quarterback. Snead needed the Stafford trade to give McVay the right quarterback for his system and to ultimately win the Super Bowl.
Will these aggressive moves by the Dolphins and the consequences that might come from it be worth it if quarterback Tua Tagovailoa struggles to stay healthy and/or turns out not to be the guy for Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel?
Adding Ramsey certainly makes them serious contenders in the AFC, while the Rams still have their Super Bowl ring, which the All-Pro cornerback helped them win.
