Winners and Losers of NFL's Blockbuster Jalen Ramsey Trade
There has been speculation for some time that the Los Angeles Rams were headed toward a fire sale after last year's miserable Super Bowl title "defense."
On Sunday, that fire sale began in earnest.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Rams have shipped Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins for a third-round pick (No. 77 overall) and tight end Hunter Long.
For the Rams, this is essentially a straight-up salary dump—and an admission that the team's days as a Super Bowl contender are over. For the Dolphins, it's a big-time acquisition that bolsters the defense and signals that Miami sees itself as a legitimate threat in the AFC East. And for Ramsey, it's a change of scenery that means avoiding the rebuild in L.A. and pocketing a fat chunk of change.
It's a splash trade that will have a major impact for not just the Rams and Dolphins but across the league as well.
For some, that impact is cause for celebration.
For others, not so much.
Winner: Jalen Ramsey
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The biggest winner of Sunday's trade may well have been the biggest name who was sent packing—at least judging from his tweet about the deal.
Mr. Ramsey appears to be a happy camper.
Frankly, it's not hard to see why. The Rams look nothing like the team that won Super Bowl LVI. Los Angeles pitched and lurched its way to a 5-12 record last year, and from all indications the franchise is about to blow up the roster and start from scratch. At this point in his career, Ramsey probably isn't inclined to want to be part of a ground-up rebuild.
Now, the 28-year-old gets to join a Dolphins team that won nine games and made the playoffs in 2022. Provided that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can remain healthy, the Dolphins will head into the 2023 campaign as a legitimate contender in the AFC East.
There's another reason Ramsey should be pleased about moving from SoCal to South Beach. At 13.3 percent, California has the highest state income tax in the country. Florida has no state income tax at all.
Also, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, as part of the deal, Ramsey's 2023 and 2024 salaries are now fully guaranteed at $20 million per season, and he'll get an additional $25 million in guarantees.
No wonder he's happy.
Loser: Los Angeles Rams
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Remember when the Rams were good?
Those were fun times.
However, those times are also over—and while general manager Les Snead's "all-in on the present" strategy in 2021 did bring the team a Super Bowl win, the bill has officially come due.
The Rams had already sent edge-rusher Leonard Floyd packing. Wide receiver Allen Robinson II is popping up in trade speculation and could follow. Sunday, Los Angeles all but gave away the team's best defensive player not named Aaron Donald.
And that might not be the end of the bloodletting. Earlier this week, Snead insisted the Rams aren't shopping quarterback Matthew Stafford.
"We're going to definitely rely on Matthew. He's definitely one of our pillars," the GM said Thursday, per Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. "He's definitely someone we're going to rely on … as we remodel this."
But rumors continue to swirl that if Snead can find a trade partner willing to take on Stafford's $57 million in guarantees, the signal-caller could be sent packing.
It's hard to criticize his strategy too much. After all, it netted the team a Lombardi Trophy.
But L.A.'s 2022 season was one of the worst ever by a defending Super Bowl champion, and with the Rams in terrible shape relative to the cap, Snead has been left no recourse aside from blowing up the team.
The window is shut. And 2023 could be an even longer season for the Rams than 2022 was.
Winner: Dolphins DC Vic Fangio
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In February, new Dolphins defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters he was excited to get to work.
"I think the Dolphins have a good thing going here," Fangio said. "There are good components of the coaching staff led by Mike [McDaniel] that made it intriguing to join that. I still have a lot of coaching left in me. It's who I am and what I enjoy doing."
That excitement level can only be higher after the acquisition of Ramsey—because a unit that already looked solid on paper just got that much better.
Miami also had talent at all three levels of the defense. Christian Wilkins is an excellent interior lineman. Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips make up a formidable duo of edge-rushers. Xavien Howard is a Pro Bowl cornerback. Jevon Holland, 23, is an ascending young talent at safety.
Now, Fangio gets a defensive back in Ramsey who has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past six seasons. In both 2020 and 2021, Ramsey was a first-team All-Pro. He can play all over the formation, whether it's on the boundary, in the slot or at safety.
There's still work to be done—the Dolphins could use an upgrade at inside linebacker. But Fangio is one of the best defensive minds in the game.
And he's certainly not short on pieces to work with in his new gig.
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Loser: Rest of the AFC East
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There may be smiles in Miami, but the rest of the AFC East probably isn't as pleased to see the Dolphins make this sizable upgrade.
Because while the AFC East may not have a "bad" team in it—the other three clubs each face a significant question mark in 2023.
The Buffalo Bills are the three-time defending division champions and have to be considered the front-runners again this year. But the financial realities of making quarterback Josh Allen one of the league's highest-paid players have set in. The Bills are more than $17 million over the cap, and the team has some key contributors set to hit free agency.
In New England, the Patriots appear to be mired in mediocrity. New England's defense remains stout, but the offense's limitations cap the team's ceiling—and that offense could be in even worse shape in 2023 if wide receiver Jakobi Meyers leaves via free agency.
Then there are the New York Jets. If New York's pursuit of Aaron Rodgers is successful, the Jets could be a real threat in the division. But as things stand, Gang Green has a gaping hole at the game's most important position.
In light of the Ramsey trade, it can be argued that the Dolphins are the most balanced, complete team in the AFC East.
Winner: Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
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There may not be a quarterback under more pressure to succeed in 2023 than Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins recently picked up his fifth-year option, and head coach Mike McDaniel said in February that the team is committed to the fourth-year pro.
"I think it's important to recognize that we have a congruence of interest by the Dolphins and the player—Tua—that both parties really want him to play at a very high level for a long time for the Miami Dolphins," McDaniel said.
Make no mistake: After last year's promising start gave way to an injury-marred finish, the pressure is on Tagovailoa to show that he truly is "the guy." And fair or not, the standard by which quarterbacks are judged is team success.
Granted, adding Ramsey doesn't fix all of Miami's problems. The offensive line still needs work, and the run game is a massive unknown, with most of Miami's running backs set to hit free agency this week.
But adding Ramsey to an already solid Dolphins defense can only help the offense. There isn't pressure to be perfect on every possession. Ramsey had four interceptions in each of the past two seasons, and any of those takeaways could mean a short field.
The Dolphins still have enough cap space to add a free agent in the backfield, and while the team doesn't have a first-round pick, Miami has three Day 2 picks with which to bolster the O-line.
Long story short, Miami is better now than the team that made the postseason last year without Ramsey and Tagovailoa for much of the campaign.
Tagovailoa's chances of winning 10-plus games and getting back to the playoffs just went up.
And that sort of season would cement his status as the Dolphins' franchise quarterback.
Salary-cap information via Spotrac unless otherwise noted.
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