Jalen Ramsey has been on the NFL's trade block for months now, but as of this writing, he remains on the Miami Dolphins roster without a deal in sight. Ramsey's refusal to attend mandatory workouts this upcoming week won't help a deal get done any quicker, and it won't get many teams excited about the idea of acquiring him.
"NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports Ramsey will stay away from the end of the club’s offseason program, which comes as no surprise given the state of things between the player and the franchise."
I get why Ramsey is away from the team, but the fact that he is refusing to go to mandatory workouts while still being a member of the Dolphins just doesn't look good.
Jalen Ramsey isn't helping a trade get done by skipping mandatory workouts
Again, I get why Ramsey is doing this. If he thinks he's going to get traded, why bother doing anything with the team actively trying to ship him off? Mike McDaniel even went as far as to say he isn't paying attention to Ramsey's trade talks, showing that he and the organization have completely moved on.
Still, it's hard to say this isn't a bad look. Ramsey might be expecting a trade, and the Dolphins might be trying to trade him, but as of now, Ramsey is a member of the Dolphins. It's one thing not to show up to non-mandatory activities when you're on the trade block, but there's no reason why Ramsey can't show up to a mandatory workout while he's on the team. Plus, these rumors have been surfacing for months without action - who is to say that a deal will actually be consummated anytime soon?
Teams that are interested in Ramsey have undoubtedly noticed his refusal to attend mandatory workouts, and it'd be safe to wonder whether this impacts external interest at all. It'd be hard to blame general managers for shying away from Ramsey, knowing that he's willing to skip mandatory workouts even when he's currently on a roster.
Ramsey's age and contract are two reasons why he hasn't generated much interest on the open market. The last thing he could afford to do was add a third reason for teams to balk at a trade, and that's exactly what he's doing.
A trade can, and presumably will, still materialize at some point, but skipping workouts won't expedite the process at all. It will only slow things down.