The Miami Dolphins made a roster-shaking trade Monday, sending Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Pro Bowl tight end Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a package that includes Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, a former Dolphins’ first-round draft pick, according to a source.
The total trade package has the Dolphins sending Ramsey, Smith and a 2027 seventh-round pick to the Steelers in exchange for Fitzpatrick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. The trade becomes official pending league approval and players passing physicals.
This deal significantly raise the stakes of the Dolphins at Pittsburgh game on Dec. 15 on Monday Night Football. Not only will it match Ramsey vs. Dolphins Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and, on occasion, Fitzpatrick vs. Smith, but it will also feature Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers vs. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in a game expected to be crucial to playoff hopes for both teams.
The trade has been reported by ESPN.
However, Ramsey was the first to announce his involvement in the trade.
As part of the deal, ESPN reports that Ramsey, the 30-year-old seven-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro, will reportedly get a $1.5 million raise, meaning his 2025 compensation is $26.6 million.
In Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins get a possible Hall of Fame player. Fitzpatrick is a thee-time All Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection. The Dolphins made Fitzpatrick the No. 11 pick of the 2018 draft but traded him to the Steelers in 2019 in a reported disagreement with coach Brian Flores over how Fitzpatrick was being used.
Fitzpatrick fills a huge void in the secondary. He’ll be an immediate starter presumably beside newly acquired Iffy Melinfonwu or Ashtyn Davis.
Fitzpatrick will team with nickel/slot cornerback Kader Kohou to provide stability in the secondary, regarded as the Dolphins’ biggest weakness entering training camp in late July.
Losing Smith, who held out of mandatory minicamp due to his contract situation, is a big blow to the offense but they have the personnel to compensate. Smith established franchise records for tight ends in receptions (88), receiving yards (884) and touchdowns (eight).
However, Smith, who was turns 30 in August and was due to earn $4.8 million, probably would have been the No. 4 offensive option behind Hill, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane.
The Dolphins were always in a precarious situation with the trade once general manager Chris Grier revealed that the team was shopping Ramsey back in April.
It was known trading Ramsey and his guaranteed salary of $24.235 million wouldn’t bring much back to the Dolphins. But by trading him after June 1, the Dolphins receive $9.9 million in cap relief. Had a trade been executed before June 1, the team was set to have Ramsey’s cap hit increase by $8.55 million, from the $16.66 million it was previously, just to unload him from the roster.
Once the NFL draft came and went in late April, solidifying that the Dolphins wouldn’t get a draft pick this year for Ramsey, it seemed reasonable to believe the front office would wait until June. But Grier said after the draft the Dolphins would trade Ramsey whenever they could.
“I think whenever those opportunities arise,” Grier said April 26. “We’ve had conversations through the (draft) with some teams about it, as well, so depending on what happens and if and when it’ll happen; whatever it is, we’ll make the deal at the appropriate time.”
Even as June arrived, that appropriate time still took weeks to arrive as the Dolphins finished their entire offseason workout, including organized team activities and mandatory minicamp before veterans report for training camp July 22.
Ramsey’s time in Miami comes to an end after two seasons. The Dolphins originally traded for Ramsey in March 2023, shipping a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams.
He then injured his knee on the second day of training camp ahead of the season, but returned to play 10 games and made his way to the Pro Bowl with three interceptions and five passes defensed while rarely tested in coverage on his side of the field.
Nonetheless, he was never pleased with how he was used in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme, which restricted him from moving around in his alignment as a versatile defensive back.
That was one difference that 2024 brought in Miami as new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver used Ramsey as an “ultimate chess piece.” Ramsey played all 17 games last season, recording two interceptions, 11 pass deflections and a sack.
Ramsey, an exceptional college talent at Florida State, was drafted with the No. 5 pick in 2016 by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was traded to the Rams in 2019 and won the Super Bowl with Los Angeles at the end of the 2021 season.
When the Dolphins acquired Ramsey in 2023, it was an affirmation of a strong push to make a run to compete for a title for the coming years coming off the 2022 playoff appearance and first-round exit. But the Dolphins only did the same in 2023 and missed the playoffs last season.
Ramsey was initially paired with longtime Dolphins standout cornerback Xavien Howard his first season with the team. In 2024, Miami released Howard and signed fellow veteran Kendall Fuller.
Fuller was then released in February, and the Dolphins still have a major hole for starting-caliber cornerbacks ahead of nickel Kader Kohou after the draft. They are expected to pursue any of a number of remaining cornerbacks still available as free agents.
