Let’s start here: The Miami Dolphins won’t miss cornerback Jalen Ramsey. They won’t miss him regularly showing up for practice as the rest of the team was in the middle of stretching.

They won’t miss how he constantly undermined defensive coordinator Vic Fangio two years ago and coach Mike McDaniel last season in a manner that spread like a bad odor through the larger team.

But how do you improve a roster on the doorstep of July by trading two productive players in Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith for a returning one in Minkah Fitzpatrick, who you’re crossing fingers is still good after a down year (or two)?

Do you believe a management team that has made so many wrong decisions got this tough one right?

General manager Chris Grier connected two of his worst trades — a young Fitzpatrick going in 2019, a veteran Ramsey coming in 2023 — with yet another questionable trade, where the Dolphins only tangible win is on the financial ledger.

They’ll save about $23 million once the trade is settled. That’s something if they plan to invest it to help this coming season. But are they? And for who, at this point in the offseason?

Say hello again to Fitzpatrick, who left the Dolphins in 2019 for a first-round pick (tackle Austin Jackson) in one of the dumbest trades in team history. He and coach Brian Flores were at odds over his role. Remember?

So, Grier sent Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh, where he became a three-time All-Pro safety, a five-time Pro Bowl pick, tied for the league lead in interceptions one year, won the Bart Starr Award for work on and off the field another year and generally moved toward a Hall of Fame career …

… until he had one interception over his past two seasons. Hmm.

Was it the system, as some said? Injury? Age (he’s 29 in November)? Did the Dolphins trade Fitzpatrick just as he hit greatness in 2019 and get him back Monday after he’s hit a career wall? Or does this rejuvenate a great player?

Fitzpatrick is immediately the best defensive back the Dolphins have and the quarterback-at-safety that defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver appreciates. He also costs $15 million this season. Ramsey, who will turn 31 during the season, costs $26 million. The Dolphins had to throw in Smith to make the deal work.

That’s just how much stink was on Ramsey. That’s how much the Dolphins wanted to get rid of him. The Dolphins were forewarned by Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Rams before he arrived, too. Grier still sent a third-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 and paid $52 million for Ramsey’s 27 starts, five interceptions, one Pro Bowl season and series of internal headaches right up to Monday’s trade.

He became a symbol of the Dolphins just collecting talent rather than building a team Ramsey and Tyreek Hill were constantly late for practices or meetings in a manner that set the culture of last year’s Dolphins.

So, Smith became the trade sweetener to get rid of Ramsey. Smith had a career year last season with 88 catches and eight touchdowns. But he’s a receiving tight end, never a blocking one in the manner McDaniel’s offense covets. He got an immediate raise to $12 million in Pittsburgh.

How to value that isn’t the question anymore. It’s how to replace all those catches. Is the hope in Tanner Conner, who they’ve loved the past couple of years right until he’s gotten hurt? Julian Hill in an expanded role? Is another trade coming?

Smith will become a good target for quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. The Steelers, too, are fighting for a playoff spot just like the Dolphins. They’re going all-in with veteran players. The Dolphins’ play is … well, it’s hard to see the plan, isn’t it? Is it just to get players on time for practices?

It’s hard to see them outsmarting a Pittsburgh organization that always has a better idea of players’ career timelines, too. A young Fitzpatrick. An older Mike Wallace and Joey Porter. We don’t need to go full chapter and verse through the years.

Former Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert had a thought on Monday from his new home in Las Vegas: “Hot take: Be a Pro-bowler on the Dolphins, get treated like s—. Happy for my guys though! GO BALL OUT!”

That will cause a stir. But Mostert was unhappy over his playing time by the end in Miami, too. So, it’s better he’s gone. It’s a lot better Ramsey is, too.

But it’s one thing to say the Dolphins won’t miss Ramsey. It’s another to wonder how getting rid of two productive players for a cross-your-fingers hope helps this team win.

Originally Published: June 30, 2025 at 4:47 PM EDT