MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are looking to trade three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, general manager Chris Grier said during a news conference Tuesday.
Grier did not specify the reasons behind his decision to trade Ramsey but clarified that the seven-time Pro Bowler did not request a trade or a salary adjustment.
The Dolphins have considered trading Ramsey for weeks now. Despite a thin cornerbacks room behind Ramsey, Grier said moving on from the star cornerback gives the team the “best chance to help us win not only just this year, but in the future as well.”
“Really after a couple weeks of discussions between ourselves internally and Jalen and his representation, we decided that it was probably in the best interest for all parties to move forward,” Grier said. “I will say these decisions aren’t done quickly and they’re not taken lightly because we spent a lot of time this offseason working through this, talking through things. At the end of the day, Jalen did not ask for a trade.
“We went through the process, and I just felt that after numerous conversations and then talking last week with Jalen and his agent, that it was best to move forward, and it was best interest of the Miami Dolphins and for Jalen Ramsey.”
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Grier said he isn’t sure whether a trade will come together before next weekend’s NFL draft, but if one does materialize, the Dolphins will have a clear need at the cornerback position.
Kader Kohou will likely be the team’s starting slot cornerback, although Grier said the team sees him as able to play both inside and outside. Miami signed former first-round pick Artie Burns in free agency and still has Ethan Bonner, Storm Duck and Jason Maitre on its roster.
The catalyst for Miami’s defensive secondary might be the development of former second-round pick Cam Smith, who played just six games last season. He seldom played as a rookie in 2023, logging snaps mostly on special teams; Grier said the 24-year-old needs to take a step forward this season.
“Cam Smith needs to come through at the end of the day, he’s got to stay healthy and be on the field,” Grier said. “He has shown some flashes, but this is a very big year of him. He knows what’s expected, because we can’t hold his hand and wait for him anymore.”
The Dolphins own the 13th pick in this year’s draft and 10 total draft picks, although Grier said he is willing to trade down if the right offer presents itself. One offer he is not pursuing, he said, is a trade involving wide receiver Tyreek Hill — but Grier said he’d consider doing so if he were offered two first-round picks.
Keeping Hill would coincide with the Dolphins’ intention to contend in 2025 after missing the playoffs last season. Grier said trading Ramsey does not constitute a rebuild on their end.
“That word has not been brought up at all,” he said. “We have a lot of really good football players on this roster still, at some places that impact games. So that word has not been used at all and our goal is to win this year and keep winning for sustained success in the future.”
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross issued a public statement shortly after the team’s season-ending loss to the New York Jets in January, confirming both Grier and coach Mike McDaniel would return in 2025.
In that statement, however, he said he was not satisfied with the “status quo” and insisted that the team would pursue an improvement from its 8-9 record in 2024. Grier said Ross did not issue any sort of ultimatum to him or McDaniel that they would be fired if they didn’t attain a certain level of success.
“No, there hasn’t been, but listen — Mike and I want to win probably more than you guys in here just to get you guys off our backs,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s the NFL. The crazy thing is when you hear some of the really good head coaches in this league that have won all the time, and people are calling for them to get fired after a season — it is just the nature of the beast … at the end of the day, you have to just work and try to drown out the noise.”
The Dolphins have already paid Ramsey a $4 million roster bonus at the start of the league year; any team that trades for him would be responsible for the remaining $21 million owed to him in 2025.
The Dolphins sent a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams in March 2023 in exchange for Ramsey, and he signed a three-year, $55 million restructured extension upon his arrival. He was named to the Pro Bowl that season despite missing seven games, and signed a three-year, $72.3 million extension shortly before the start of the 2024 season. He was credited with 11 pass breakups in 2024 but recorded only two interceptions — his lowest total since 2020.
