The NFL never sleeps, especially right before the madness of free agency.
Sunday saw the Los Angeles Rams trade superstar defender Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins. The Rams are making an earnest attempt at a rebuild and simply didn’t have the space to keep around an expensive player like Ramsey. And the Dolphins, trying to load up for a stacked AFC, get one of the premier secondary players in professional football.
No wonder Ramsey was so pumped.
From a glance, the deal does make sense for both organizations. The Dolphins improve one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses while the Rams clear up much-needed salary cap room. But one team clearly came out on top.
Let’s grade the ins and outs of the Jalen Ramsey trade to the Dolphins.
The details
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, here’s the exact compensation of the trade:
Dolphins get: CB Jalen Ramsey
Rams get: A 2023 third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and Hunter Long
Miami Dolphins
With Aaron Rodgers potentially calling the AFC East home soon, the Dolphins knew they had to make a splash. The only way a team that barely snuck into last year’s postseason would keep pace was by going bold.
Trading for a 28-year-old star cornerback like Ramsey certainly qualifies as “bold.”
After leading the AFC pack for most of the 2022 season, the Dolphins faltered down the stretch. They lost five of their last seven regular-season games, which was largely due to a sieve of a defense. Miami had the 25th-ranked pass defense by Football Outsiders’ DVOA, and even that seems charitable to their efforts.
Ramsey immediately slots in as Miami’s top corner opposite Xavien Howard. Not only can Ramsey cover the Stefon Diggs and Garrett Wilson’s of the world, he gives the previously struggling Howard “easier” assignments.
For a third-round pick and tight end that wasn’t a significant factor in the Dolphins’ plans, the Ramsey trade is a grand slam for Miami.
Grade: A
Los Angeles Rams
GM Les Snead got precisely what he wanted from the Rams’ aggressiveness to build a championship roster … a Super Bowl. It’s the pinnacle achievement of the sport, and I’m sure no one with L.A.’s organization regrets pushing the chips in on a successful title pursuit. No one.
But I don’t think Snead is over the moon right now.
After a 5-12 campaign in 2022, the top-heavy Rams are in shambles. Matthew Stafford is in his mid-30s and might never be entirely healthy again. Cooper Kupp, at age 29, is coming off a traumatic ankle injury, and Aaron Donald has seemingly flirted with retirement. Oh, and while he’s back for now, Sean McVay doesn’t appear too keen about a rebuild, either.
If that weren’t enough, the Rams are in salary cap hell. They traded Ramsey specifically for more financial freedom because they didn’t have enough cap space. I get it. They had their backs up against the wall and almost no choice. But to recoup just a third-round draft pick and a blocking TE with one career catch for a star cornerback with two years remaining on his deal?
That’s rough. I’m sure the Rams appreciate clearing up over $19 million in cap space, but this trade is a perfect example of cap perils in action:
the Rams traded away a 28-year-old perennial Pro Bowl cornerback for:
-a 3rd round pick
-a tight end with 3 career targets
-$19.6 million in salary cap savings
-end of list— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) March 12, 2023
Maybe next time, Snead will be more thoughtful with his roster construction. The road back to relevance will be a long one. That is, if Snead and Co. ever get the chance to the finish the trip.
Grade: C-
