Marcel Louis-Jacques and Sarah Barshop2 minute read
The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to trade star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins for a 2023 third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and tight end Hunter Long, sources told Sunday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The trade will be processed on Wednesday, when the 2023 Championship year officially begins.
Ramsey tweeted his enthusiasm for the exchange on Sunday, writing, “I’ve been praying for this specifically for about a month and now it’s happening! @MiamiDolphins LETSGO!”
Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, is widely considered one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks and joins fellow former All-Pro in Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard.
Miami has aggressively built its roster over the past year, also trading for All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Pro Bowl linebacker Bradley Chubb.
The Dolphins had a need at cornerback after telling Byron Jones he would be released at the start of the league’s new year and made several salary cap compensation moves over the past week, restructuring contracts of Hill, Chubb and Terron Armstead.
After that trade, the Dolphins have four picks in the 2023 draft: one each in the second, third, sixth and seventh rounds.
The Rams pulled off a blockbuster trade for Ramsey in 2019, sending first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and a fourth-round pick in 2021 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Los Angeles signed Ramsey to a five-year, $105 million contract extension less than a year later, which was the largest on record for his position at the time of the deal.
Ramsey still has three years left on that contract, although there is no guaranteed money left for the final two seasons. The veteran cornerback was the only player in that Super Bowl-winning Rams core group not to sign a contract extension or reworked contract this past offseason. Ramsey ranks third at the position in AAV ($20 million), behind Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander ($21 million) and Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward ($20.1 million) .
By trading Ramsey before June 1, the Rams will take $19.6 million in dead money off their 2023 salary cap with $5.6 million in cap savings.
Ramsey becomes the third notable defensive player dropped by the Rams as they work to get below the salary cap. The Rams previously parted ways with linebacker Bobby Wagner and released pass-rusher Leonard Floyd.
Ramsey was the third-highest-ranked cornerback in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Focus. He finished the season with 4 interceptions, 18 passes defended, 12 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles and 2 sacks. His four interceptions tied his career high.
In seven seasons, Ramsey has 19 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles and 2 sacks. He was named a first-team All-Pro in the 2017, 2020 and 2021 seasons.