For various reasons, financial, competitiveness and whatnot, it feels like a foregone conclusion that veteran star defensive back Jalen Ramsey will be traded before the start of the season. Both parties want to go their separate ways. It may not be an entirely amicable breakup, but we have seen far worse divorces in sports before, and in life in general. So who should Miami add to replace Ramsey?
ESPN's Matt Bowen tabbed former Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Asante Samuel Jr. as the best candidate to come aboard in the Miami defensive backfield. Bowen argued that Miami's secondary is in need of a seasoned playmaker, one potentialy of Samuel's caliber. When healthy, he possesses many of the traits that made his famous namesake father so great in the NFL for years.
Bowen did have Ramsey going back to one of his former teams in the Los Angeles Rams as his best landing spot by way of trade. I am not sure I entirely believe that, but then again, I am considerably more down on the Rams than most people who cover the NFL for a living. As for the Dolphins, I recognize this as a critical year for so many people involved, so I like the fit of Samuel to Miami here.
Living well is the best revenge, as Samuel can make the Chargers regret moving on from him in Miami.
Why Asante Samuel could be the ideal piece to replace Jalen Ramsey
One of the reasons I can get behind Bowen's logic of putting Samuel on the Dolphins as Ramsey's immediate replacement is he offers a similar skill set, but at a fraction of the cost. Ramsey's high price point is the biggest reason why the Dolphins want to move on from possibly a declining player. While he is a bit of a wanderer, Ramsey seems to prefer to play for winning franchises more often than not.
As stated above, I really do feel this is a crucial year for everyone involved with the Dolphins. This team needs to get back into the AFC playoffs, and probably win a playoff game for everyone to feel safe heading into next offseason. If Miami fails to do either things, that could cost head coach Mike McDaniel his job, general manager Chris Grier his job, and so many players theirs jobs as well in this.
To me, competition will be key in Miami refusing to say die. The Dolphins are the epitome of an it could go either way team. While I question if the team has already hit its ceiling with Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill as prominent parts of its core, I am not so sure they are going to crater and scrape along at rock bottom either. Look for Miami to vie for a playoff spot until the end this year, for better or worse...
All I know is that if Ramsey is traded, Miami will need a player like Samuel to come in and take over.