In early April, Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier told reporters that the team would explore potential trade options for three-time first-team All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey. And it seems like the most likely trade option could be sending the defensive back to a place he's familiar with: the Los Angeles Rams, as head coach Sean McVay continues to allude to the possibility.
The Dolphins were expected to finalize a deal before the 2025 NFL Draft so they could use any draft capital acquired from the trade to bolster their roster. Although the two sides mutually agreed to part ways, a deal never materialized. The draft came and went without a trade, and Ramsey continues to remain stuck in South Beach.
Ramsey’s significant contract could be limiting his market, but the Dolphins are still actively shopping the cornerback. As the dust settles after the draft, Miami may finally be inching closer to finding a trade partner.
Jalen Ramsey seems destined to reunite with Sean McVay
The Rams have expressed continued interest in reuniting with Ramsey. General manager Les Sneed openly admitted that he had conversations with Miami, while head coach Sean McVay said he would “never eliminate the possibility of adding a total stud,” per Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.
The Rams were primarily focused on the draft at the time, but they can now turn their attention toward acquiring the seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback. During McVay’s recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “Mad Dog Sports Radio,” Adam Schein asked the Rams coach for an update on the trade talks.
“There’s not too much of an update,” McVay said, via USA Today. “He is a total stud and you look at, obviously he has continued to play at a really high level. He and I have kept in great touch even since we ended up trading him to Miami. Special competitor, great person, great father. And so there are a lot of layers when you’re talking about a player of his caliber – ‘All right, with regards to the contract, the compensation that they would be looking for in exchange for receiving a player of his magnitude.’ And so those conversations are ongoing, as I’m sure they are with multiple teams. And we’ll see, but we’re never going to shy away from opportunities to increase the competitiveness of our roster or add great players as long as it fits within the framework of everything that an acquisition like that would entail.”
Ramsey, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, spent the first four years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being traded to the Rams in 2019. He enjoyed the best seasons of his career during his four years in Los Angeles. He earned two first-team All-Pro selections and three Pro Bowl nods while playing a critical role in the team’s Super Bowl LVI championship. The 30-year-old spent the past two seasons in Miami, but he missed seven games in 2023 with a knee injury and then snapped his streak of four straight Pro Bowl campaigns in 2024.
Although it’s too late to receive any 2025 draft picks for Ramsey, a trade after the draft always made more sense. A trade prior to June would have left the Dolphins with $29.2 million in dead money on their 2025 salary cap, per Spotrac. By trading Ramsey with a post-June 1 designation, Miami would only take a dead salary cap hit of $10.7 million.