Winners and Losers of Shocking Jalen Ramsey, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jonnu Smith Trade

After months of rumors and speculation, the Miami Dolphins have finally traded Jalen Ramsey. While the star cornerback didn’t reunite with the Los Angeles Rams as many expected, he got his wish of being dealt when he was sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers along with Jonnu Smith for Minkah Fizpatrick and a Day 3 pick swap, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.

According to Rapoport, this move coincides with a re-worked contract for Ramsey. The corner garnered a $1.5 million raise from the Steelers, bringing his salary up to $26.6 million on the season.

It’s a hefty price to pay for a cornerback entering an age-30 season who appeared to regress in 2024, but it is a move that will help the Steelers contend for their fifth playoff berth in six seasons. The cornerback spot needed a jolt and was one of the biggest remaining holes on the roster following the team’s blockbuster acquisition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

While the Steelers started this offseason in disarray, they are now shaping up to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender during what is likely to be a brief window with Rodgers at the helm. Fitzpatrick has been a leader of their defense and a perennial Pro Bowler at the safety position, however, and his absence will certainly be felt.

Does Ramsey help push the Steelers over the edge? Was giving up Fitzpatrick a wise decision? Will Smith build on his breakout season now that he is in Pittsburgh? Was this a smart move for a Miami team that has its own aspirations to contend?

Read on for answers as well as a look at the other winners and losers from this marquee deal.

Winner: Pittsburgh Steelers

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General manager Omar Khan has his Pittsburgh Steelers going all-in this offseason to get over the Wild Card Round hump.

After exiting in the first round during each of their four previous playoff appearances and not making it to The Big Game in any season following their Super Bowl XLV defeat to Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers in 2010, Pittsburgh has assembled the pieces to make a serious run.

Jalen Ramsey is the stud corner the squad needed to contend with the potent wideouts it will face not only in January and February, but throughout the long grind of the regular season and brutal AFC North slate. With divisional rivals boasting stars like Ja’Marr Chase, Zay Flowers and Jerry Jeudy, the Steelers simply couldn’t afford to be thin at cornerback.

While Pittsburgh does have some capable players at the position—including incumbent Joey Porter Jr. and free-agent addition Darius Slay—the depth was shaky at best. Ramsey immediately upgrades the position significantly and gives the Steelers a counter to the elite receiving weapons they’ll match up against in 2025.

Although the loss of Fitzpatrick certainly stings, Pittsburgh has a capable in-house replacement option thanks to their shrewd pickup of Juan Thornhill this offseason. The former Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns safety offers veteran leadership and championship experience in addition to his solid coverage skills.

Ramsey could also play some safety, a transition he hinted at several years ago while discussing the longevity of Hall of Fame defensive back Charles Woodson.

Regardless of where Ramsey ultimately lines up, expect the Steelers to receive a noticeable boost to their Super Bowl odds when sportsbooks recalibrate them in wake of this headline-grabbing trade.

Loser: Miami Dolphins

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The Miami Dolphins have had one of the more head-scratching offseasons of any club, and that confusion only continued when general manager Chris Grier agreed to not only deal Jalen Ramsey for another veteran defensive back but also give up a productive pass-catching tight end in the process.

Instead of loading up on picks or young prospects to build around for the long haul, the only future value Miami received in the deal was upgrading a seventh-rounder to a fifth-rounder in next year's draft.

The ‘Phins may have only narrowly missed the playoffs last year, but they have been trending in the wrong direction ever since they went 11-6—the franchise’s best season since 2008—and led the league in offense in 2023.

Star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa once again dealt with injury woes during that trying 2024 campaign. Star edge rusher Bradley Chubb, sidelined with ailments of his own, admitted the team’s culture was less than stellar last season. There were reports that head coach Mike McDaniel had lost the locker room, with veterans like Ramsey and Tyreek Hill pushing to leave South Beach following that disheartening 8-9 season.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s presence won’t be enough for the Dolphins to reverse course.

While the playmaking safety is certainly a quality addition to the roster, he’ll turn 29 years old this coming season and has had health concerns in recent seasons. While those didn’t stop him from playing all 17 games and making his third consecutive Pro Bowl last year, Fitzpatrick missed time in each of the three prior campaigns—including in 2023 when he was sidelined for a career-high seven games.

With the ‘Phins loading up at safety earlier in the offseason—they drafted Dante Trader Jr. and signed both Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashytn Davis in free agency—this was far from a position of need for the club. Ironically, cornerback was a more pressing concern following the draft, an issue magnified by the departure of Ramsey.

There’s still a chance that Miami battles its way into contention if Tagovailoa can stay healthy and rookies like fifth-round corner Jason Marshall Jr. can step up, but the odds aren’t favorable. If the Dolphins couldn’t find a way to work things out with Ramsey, they should have instead embraced a rebuilding effort and added more picks and cap space in the deal.

Winner: Jalen Ramsey

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Credit to David Mulugheta, Jalen Ramsey’s agent, for negotiating a deal that not only set his client free from a Miami Dolphins organization that is bordering on dysfunction, but also saw him secure a pay raise in the process.

Ramsey was already one of the league’s highest-paid corners after signing a three-year, $72.3 million contract extension on the heels of a solid 2023 campaign. While he won’t finish playing out that agreement with the club he signed it with, the Pittsburgh Steelers were willing to tack another million and change onto the deal to facilitate the move.

It’s a surprising development given Ramsey’s noticeable regression in 2024.

Ramsey missed the Pro Bowl for the first time since in his nine-year NFL career last season. While he was healthy and played all 17 games after missing seven contests in 2023, the corner allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 62 percent of their throws against him in coverage—up over 8 percent from the prior campaign—and conceded a passing rating of 83.2, over 30 points more than 2023.

While Ramsey could get back on track during his stint in Pittsburgh and play some quality football, his best years are likely behind him at this point. Despite this slippage, Derek Stingley Jr. will be the only corner being paid more in 2025 after he signed a record-breaking extension with the Houston Texans earlier in the offseason.

Loser: Minkah Fitzpatrick

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Minkah Fitzpatrick is returning to the team that drafted him No. 11 overall in the 2018 draft. The safety turned in a decent rookie year (80 tackles, nine pass defenses, two interceptions) before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Steelers just two weeks into the 2019 campaign.

Fitzpatrick blossomed into a superstar under head coach Mike Tomlin, making the first of what would become five Pro Bowl and three All-Pro appearances in seven years during the same season he was traded.  

It remains to be seen if Fitzpatrick can continue playing at that level now that he’s back in Miami. One of the reasons he struggled early on in Miami was a transition to nickel corner under former head coach Brian Flores, a position he likely won’t be tasked with playing this time around.

The Dolphins do have holes across the secondary as they continue to undergo a complete transformation in that area. The team lost incumbents Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer in free agency and cut ties with Kendall Fuller before adding several veteran and rookie replacements over the past few months.

While Fitzpatrick is a lock to secure one of the two starting safety positions, a lack of clarity and skill in the secondary could sink the defense’s chances to have a successful 2025 season. It’s not an ideal position to be in for a player with just two years left on his current contract with limited opportunities to continue cashing in before the twilight of his NFL career.

Winner: Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith is coming off a personal-best year and should continue his late-career surge with another strong season in 2025.

Smith finds himself in a fantastic situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who now have star under center in Aaron Rodgers and a need for playmakers.

After bouncing around the league by playing for three different teams during a four-year stretch between 2020-23, Smith thrived during a one-year pit stop with the Miami Dolphins. He had 88 catches for 884 yards and eight touchdowns—all career-best marks—despite working with four different quarterbacks due to Tua Tagovailoa’s injury issues.

While Rodgers missed nearly the entire 2023 season with an Achilles tear, he returned to play in 17 games last season and has generally been healthy throughout his two decades in professional football. Having a consistent, stable quarterback to work with could see Smith improve upon his already impressive 2024 numbers.

Even with Pat Freiermuth—who posted a 65/653/7 stat line last year—to contend for snaps and reps with, there should be more than enough targets in a Rodgers-led offense for both tight ends to put up impressive numbers.

Although Smith didn’t see the Brink's truck backed up in wake of his standout campaign, he did earn a $12 million extension from the Steelers as part of the trade, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. That’s a significant raise over the two-year, $8.4 million deal he signed with the Dolphins last March and keeps him in Pittsburgh through the 2026 season.

If Smith continues to flourish into his early 30s, the athletic tight end should be able to land one more sizable contract and maximize his earnings after finally realizing his vast potential.

Loser: Los Angeles Rams

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It seemed almost preordained that Jalen Ramsey would return to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason.

Many of the reports throughout the offseason focused on when and how a reunion could occur. Even Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke about Ramsey frequently when asked by the media about a potential trade to bring the corner back into the fold for 2025.

Despite the expectations, Ramsey ultimately landed in Pittsburgh and Minkah Fitzpatrick wound up being the defensive back who reunited with his former team in the deal. Los Angeles will now have to find alternative options to bolster its secondary during the limited time remaining before the start of the 2025 NFL season.

Unfortunately for L.A., the smattering of veterans still lingering on the free-agent scrap heap aren’t going to move the needle nearly as much as a seven-time Pro Bowler could.

After missing out on signing Jaire Alexander and failing to trade for Ramsey, the Rams' free-agent choices are aging talents well past their primes such as Stephon Gilmore or injury-prone options like Asante Samuel Jr.

With the Rams hoping to get at least one more crack at a Super Bowl during the Matthew Stafford era, a cornerback room currently consisting of Ahkello Witherspoon, Darious Williams, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Quentin Lake and Cobie Durant could be the team’s Achilles' heel.