Jalen Ramsey’s connection to the Cowboys goes all the way back to the 2016 draft, but he is far from the same star player now.
Ramsey, who the Cowboys infamously passed on in the 2016 NFL Draft to take Ezekiel Elliott, has been with the Dolphins for the last two years. At 30 years old, Ramsey is approaching the twilight of his career, though he did make a triumphant return from a torn meniscus early in 2023, playing all 17 games this past year.
That said, there are reasons why Ramsey simply doesn’t make sense in Dallas.
For starters, as is usually the case with the Cowboys, the money is an issue. Ramsey signed an extension with the Dolphins just last year that gave him $24.23 million in guaranteed money. He’ll carry a cap hit of $16.67 million for this season, and it’ll balloon to just over $25 million in 2026; the contract tops out with a $36.17 million cap hit in the final year, which isn’t until 2028.
It should be noted that Ramsey’s contract has an out after this next season, with potential cap savings up to $18.29 million. However, given his age and injury history, does it really make sense to give up assets (likely draft capital) for a one-year rental? The Cowboys just did that with Pickens, but he’s six years younger and $13 million cheaper.
Of course, the Cowboys have the room to make it work. They’re currently looking at $32.26 million in cap space, per Spotrac. However, the team is (allegedly) working on an extension for Micah Parsons, and will also have to make decisions this offseason about Donovan Wilson, DaRon Bland, Jake Ferguson, Jalen Tolbert, and Pickens.
In other words, the Cowboys likely aren’t thrilled about the idea of giving up even more draft picks for an aging cornerback that will cut their cap space in half and almost certainly needs to be released after one year on the payroll.
Then there’s the issue of Ramsey’s actual play.
The Cowboys have Bland, who they should feel good about despite an uneven 2024. They also like Trevon Diggs, though he’s rehabbing an injury and may or may not be available at the start of the year. Rookie Shavon Revel Jr. is in a similar situation, tearing his ACL last September.
Kaiir Elam, Caelen Carson, Israel Mukuamu, Josh Butler, Kemon Hall, Andrew Booth Jr., and a couple others will also be in the mix to potentially start in 2025, at least until Diggs is back to full health. That uncertainty is why the Cowboys need to find another viable option at the position, but in 2025, Ramsey just isn’t that.
This past season, Ramsey gave up a 70.8% completion rate and a 93.5 passer rating when targeted. That’s his highest completion rate and second-highest passer rating ever allowed.
Even if the fit doesn’t make complete sense, the smoke around Ramsey and the Cowboys isn’t going away just yet.
Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler said he spoke to a source inside the Cowboys’ organization who suggested they might make another trade this offseason. Fowler then noted that Dallas ‘could be one to watch’ for a Jalen Ramsey trade.
The Miami Dolphins have been looking to trade the All-Pro cornerback for weeks now, in part due to a reported rift with head coach Mike McDaniel. While a deal isn’t expected until this summer, multiple contenders have reached out to Miami about Ramsey.
Jalen Ramsey stats 2024: 2 interceptions, 62% completion rate allowed, 83.2 QB rating allowed, 6.5 yards per target allowed
While he’s no longer an All-Pro caliber cornerback, Ramsey is still an outstanding starter. For Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberlus, Ramsey could serve as a movable cornerback who can play all over the field, or he can be deployed primarily on the outside opposite of DaRon Bland.
While he’s no longer an All-Pro caliber cornerback, Ramsey is still an outstanding starter. For Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberlus, Ramsey could serve as a movable cornerback who can play all over the field, or he can be deployed primarily on the outside opposite of DaRon Bland.
It would also provide much-needed help at cornerback amid uncertainty with Trevon Diggs.
With the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry hopefully getting back to a battle between Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts at QB, both team’s situation at CB could be a decider in these matchups.
2.Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas cornerback room would easily top the division if they were healthy. Trevon Diggs was an All-Pro in 2021 and played better as a coverage corner in 2022. He tore his ACL in 2023 and wasn’t the same in 2024 before injuring himself again. Diggs can’t be counted on to be who he was pre-injuries if he plays in 2025.
Josh Butler played well in limited starts before tearing his ACL. He was on pace for 71 tackles, 17 pass breakups, and 3.5 sacks if he played 17 games, but he could miss all of 2025. Shavon Revel Jr. was considered one of the top corner prospects in the draft, but an ACL injury forced him to drop to the third round. He should be ready for training camp, but he is a rookie coming off a significant injury, so his abilities are unknown, too.
Caelen Carson was a promising rookie who looked lost playing through a shoulder injury, Israel Mukuamu played well in a playoff game a few years ago, but hasn’t been trusted with many defensive snaps since then, and Kaiir Elam is a former first-round pick, but the Buffalo Bills traded him away for a Day 3 pick swap. Elam will likely be the starter outside until Revel Jr. or Diggs are ready. He had PFF grades over 70 in every area except coverage, where he scored a 67. The potential is nice in the cornerback room, but DaRon Bland is the only known commodity. He has played well in the slot and was an All-Pro outside the 2023 season, in which he broke the record for interceptions returned for a touchdown. He started the season injured, but played well in his seven starts with a PFF coverage and overall grade over 70. If Diggs and Bland play at their All-Pro level, it leaves multiple players as the third option. Revel Jr., Butler, Elam, Carson, or Mukuamu will all get a chance, and it would only require one to break out, but with those unknowns, plus Diggs’s health, Dallas falls second in the division.
1.Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are in a weird spot because they are very young, and their top corner was a cap casualty, but they have the fewest question marks from their starters at cornerback.
Quinyon Mitchell was a good cover guy in his rookie season. He was in the top 10 in both passer rating allowed and pass breakups. He was 11th in completion percentage allowed and first in yards after the catch allowed. He isn’t a playmaking corner, adding no interceptions or tackles for a loss, but he did enough to be second in the defensive rookie of the year award rankings. Mitchell takes over for Darius Slay Jr. as the top corner on the team.
Cooper DeJean is the second corner and will play mainly in the slot. He had an underrated rookie season and was fourth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He adds a playmaking element to their defensive back room. DeJean forced two fumbles and recovered three of them. He’s their best versus the run, with a PFF grade over 90, but his coverage and overall grades were also better than Mitchell’s. He missed more tackles though and allowed a slightly higher completion percentage. Still, he will be tasked with replacing the playmaking ability of the starting safety from 2024, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, even though they don’t play the same position.
Adoree Jackson isn’t the same player he was for the Tennessee Titans or his first few years in New York, but he is still a solid starting option. According to PFF, he was the 57th-rated corner out of 2022, but that was based on his run defense more than coverage. He ranked in the top 10 against the run, but 79th in coverage. He can be the mentor the team lost with Slay Jr. while adding adequate starting snaps on defense.
Kelee Ringo played just over 100 snaps for Philadelphia in 2024, but is likely the top reserve. He is another promising young player from Georgia that the Eagles hope will break out, like Nakobe Dean did last year. The Philadelphia corner unit is young, but they’re the best mix of known ability without availability question marks.
CeeDee Lamb battled through injury and the loss of Dak Prescott to remain one of the only positives on offense last season.
The fact Lamb played through the injury looks even more impressive now after he revealed just how grueling the rehab was.
“The longest [rehab]. I want to say a good five months of real recovery and rehab,” Lamb said, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “I don’t know. I’m grateful to have two arms. I can tell you that.”
Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb opens up about shoulder injury
That is scary stuff and makes what Lamb did last season just incredible.
With the Cowboys essentially playing for their pride for the final two months of the year, fans applauded Lamb’s willingness to continue suiting up instead of mailing it in. Nobody would have blamed Lamb if he decided to get the shoulder cleaned up.
It was an elite display of leadership and toughness. The two-time All-Pro likely would have gutted it out for the final two games. Fortunately, the Cowboys saved Lamb from himself and put him on the shelf after he aggravated the injury against the Buccaneers in Week 16.
Despite playing banged up for his final seven games, Lamb finished with the seventh-most catches (101) and eighth-most receiving yards (1,194) among wide receivers. Even more incredible when you remember Prescott missed the final nine games. He recorded at least six catches in six of the final seven games while injured and catching spirals from Cooper Rush.
The Cowboys back half of their schedule has gotten more attention when it comes to facing playoff teams from a year ago, but the Broncos are a team on the rise that Dallas does not have a good history against either.
Since that 31-21 win at Texas Stadium, Dallas has lost seven straight games to Denver. The last meeting was a 30-16 rout that wasn’t as close as the final score made it.
It featured a bizarre blocked punt, that wasn’t a blocked punt after all, that likely killed any comeback bid by Dallas in the second half.
The highlight game was the 51-48 shootout at AT&T Stadium between Tony Romo and Peyton Manning. It is the highest-scoring final score in Cowboys’ history.
As things stand right now, the Dallas Cowboys will probably be either 5-2 or 4-3 for the 2025 NFL season when they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in Week 8.
Denver, under Sean Payton, is expected to challenge the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West crown. They’ll also have the advantage of that mile-high elevation.
The Broncos were a 10-win team that made the playoffs last year.
They’ve also improved on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball in the offseason.
If Bo Nix continues to improve, and Payton is the quarterback whisperer after all, Denver is going to be a tough out. It will be a tough assignment for the Cowboys to fly home with a win on the books.
But there is a historical aspect to this contest that could prove to be a good omen for Dallas.