As Jalen Ramsey and the Dolphins continue to prepare for a parting of the ways, the seven-time Pro Bowler will skip Miami’s three-day mandatory minicamp, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. Minicamp begins on Tuesday, June 10.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said last week (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques) that “nothing has changed” regarding Ramsey. The team has insisted that the decision to seek a trade for the veteran cornerback is mutual, but Ramsey has been pushing for an exit, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. He likely lost his $100k workout bonus by skipping OTAs and will incur another $105k in fines for skipping minicamp.
The veteran cornerback has generated “more interest…than people realize,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Jackson), but his contract remains a sticking point. An acquiring team would have to pick up at least $2.02MM in 2025 (Ramsay’s salary and per game roster bonus) with $65.7MM of non-guaranteed money due over the following three years. However, the Dolphins already paid Ramsey’s $4MM roster bonus in March and would prefer to shed the remaining $20.235MM in guaranteed money on his deal, which includes an $18.98MM option bonus due on August 31, per OverTheCap.
If Ramsey’s new team doesn’t want to absorb all of Ramsey’s option bonus, the Dolphins could handle his contract in a manner similar to the Eagles-49ers Bryce Huff trade. Philadelphia declined Huff’s fully-guaranteed option bonus, which turned into a guaranteed salary for the same amount. The Eagles then restructured a portion of that salary into a signing bonus to absorb some of Huff’s remaining money and spread the dead cap charges across two years; the 49ers took on the rest of Huff’s 2025 salary.
A completed trade would leave $10.7MM in dead money on the Dolphins’ 2025 cap, along with any additional money they absorb in the deal. Another $18.4MM would hit the books in 2026, which could increase if Miami eats 2025 salary and converts it into a signing bonus as described above.
Despite interest from around the league, a trade is no guarantee. ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes that Ramsey is more likely to be released than traded. In that case, the Dolphins would likely exercise his option bonus early, resulting in $11.8MM in dead cap charges in 2025 and a whopping $40.4MM in 2026.
Miami is stuck in neutral. I’m betting a new GM, HC comes aboard next offseason. Pending how Tua plays, maybe a new QB as well.
I don’t know. They seem to like McDaniel. I personally think he is a clown but the FO and/or ownership likes him.
He doesn’t want be in Miami and it seems like Miami is willing to let him go. Hopefully they can move him so both side can start moving on
Keep him and suspend him without pay for every practice, game, etc that he skips.