INDIANAPOLIS, IN – OCTOBER 20: Miami Dolphins Corner Back Jalen Ramsey (5) defends during the NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts on October 20, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)
Former NFL All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel Sr. ripped the Miami Dolphins for trading All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. He thinks Miami got fleeced by Omar Khan and the Steelers.
The Steelers also acquired a 2027 seventh-round draft pick and the Dolphins got a 2027 fifth-round draft pick in the trade.
“If the Steelers’ defense was ranked 12th in total defense, with almost no production from Minkah Fitzpatrick last season, I know, and I guarantee, Jalen Ramsey will make this defense a better defense,” Samuel said on the Say What Needs To Be Said podcast. “And the Dolphins had no reason to trade Jalen Ramsey, other than that they were sensitive. There’s no leadership in the Dolphins organization. Mike McDaniels is a pushover. Chris Greer, the general manager, has no backbone. These guys over here, the Miami Dolphins, they are running this team like a little league team. …
“To me, it doesn’t make sense. Because [the Dolphins] traded for another safety, when Jalen Ramsey could easily be moved to safety and be way more productive than the person you just traded for.”
NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger also thinks the Steelers won the blockbuster trade with the Dolphins.
“I feel like the Steelers won this trade. However, the combination you have. Jalen Ramsey can play the star position inside. You think about [Darius] Slay can play the left corner, Joey Porter can play the right corner, Beanie can be, you know, their fourth corner if needed. I think the Steelers got a lot better in the secondary,” Baldinger said on The Best Football Show.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – DECEMBER 08: Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) runs out on the field before the game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets on December 8, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire)
Former Dolphins running back and current Las Vegas Raider Raheem Mostert also ripped the Dolphins for their treatment of Ramsey and Smith. He hopes both players shine with the Steelers and prove to Miami that they made a massive mistake.
“Hot take: Be a Pro-bowler on the Dolphins, get treated like sh**. Happy for my guys though! GO BALL OUT!!” Mostert wrote on X.
Ramsey, 30, has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over the last decade. He is a three-time first-team All-Pro in 2017, 2020 and 2021, and a seven-time Pro Bowler from 2017-23. He won Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams after the 2021 season.
Initially drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Florida State, Ramsey has now been traded three times, first to the Rams in 2019, then to the Dolphins in 2023 and now to the Steelers.
Ramsey was traded to the Dolphins in 2023, and signed a three-year contact extension with the team in September 2024, but this spring both Ramsey and the team mutually agreed to part ways. The Dolphins needed to wait until after June 1 to make a trade.
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