Pro Football Rumors
For a team that has made two playoff appearances over the past three years and has not lost 10 games since 2019, vibes sure don’t seem great in Miami. Mike McDaniel has moved closer to the hot seat, despite coaxing dramatic Tua Tagovailoa improvement and leading the Dolphins to back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since Dave Wannstedt‘s tenure more than 20 years ago. GM Chris Grier also has not enjoyed a banner year, having seen his Tyreek Hill rework and Jalen Ramsey extension not prove fruitful.
The Dolphins have battled cap trouble in multiple offseasons, and this one brought a historic dead money charge thanks to the Ramsey trade. McDaniel may need a third playoff berth in four seasons to keep his job — as odd as that sounds for a franchise that booked two playoff appearances from 2002-21 — pointing to Tagovailoa’s health potentially determining the HC’s long-term fate. Regardless of Tua’s status, the Dolphins have some questions to answer after some notable offseason roster subtractions and storylines.
Reminding of the 2019 Odell Beckham Jr. trade that belatedly included an Olivier Vernon–Kevin Zeitler swap, the Dolphins and Steelers folded the Smith transaction into the Ramsey-Fitzpatrick blockbuster. Almost six years after he forced his way out of Jacksonville, Ramsey burned more bridges in Florida. After it was over, the former All-Pro cornerback set a non-quarterback dead money record, tagging the Dolphins with $35.86MM — spread between 2025 and ’26.
The latest Ramsey chapter of discontent emerged in April, when the Dolphins and the aging defender agreed to pursue a trade. This came months after Grier had signed off on a market-topping extension, representing the second time Ramsey had become the top CB earner.
Extended soon after Patrick Surtain reset the market in September, Ramsey played reasonably well in 2024. Pro Football Focus ranked him 11th among corners, but considering he missed nearly half the 2023 season, the nine-year veteran did not justify Grier’s decision to both rework his Rams deal upon arrival and then sign off on a new one 18 months later.
Grier has become the rare GM to cave repeatedly to disgruntled players. It was not even known if Ramsey was even disgruntled last year, but after Grier reworked the Xavien Howard and Tyreek Hill deals to throw significant guarantees their way, he paid Ramsey ahead of an age-30 season. Ramsey is tied to a three-year, $72.3MM extension that runs through 2028. This reminded of the Howard and Hill adjustments since Ramsey also had multiple seasons (two) left on a contract. The Dolphins doing that extension and then trading him less than a year later proved quite costly.
Teams balked at taking on all of Ramsey’s guaranteed money for 2025, depressing the value of a player probably headed to the Hall...
