Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is not planning to attend the team’s mandatory minicamp this week as the sides continue to seek a trade for the seven-time Pro Bowl cornerback.
That revelation, reported by NFL Network on Sunday, wasn’t a surprise.
The Dolphins previously confirmed that they are trying to trade Ramsey. While Miami has characterized it as a decision in the best interest of both parties, Ramsey wants out, sources said.
The Dolphins, to this point, have been unable to find a team willing to give them not the only trade compensation they want, but also pay most or all of his $25.1 million salary this season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that there’s more interest in Ramsey than people realize, but that purported interest has not resulted in a trade to this point.
Ramsey has never directly explained why he wants out of Miami but gave a strong hint when he posted a photo of rotten oranges on the first night of the NFL Draft, alongside a caption that read as an indictment of the Dolphins organization.
“Who you surround yourself with matters,” the first part of the caption read, followed by a short inscription underneath the picture that said “If you surround yourself with people who are okay with mediocre, you too will start to be okay with it... surround yourself with people who desire GREATNESS!”
A trade will lower Ramsey’s 2025 Dolphins camp hit from $16.7 million to $6.7 million, leaving Miami with $24 million in cap space if he’s traded for a future draft pick. That money can be carried over to next offseason if the Dolphins don’t use it all this season.
Ramsey will have another $18 million in dead money on Miami’s 2026 books if he’s traded in the weeks ahead.
Aside from nickel cornerback Kader Kohou, the Dolphins don’t have a proven starting cornerback on their team.
Their other corners under contract: former second-round pick Cam Smith (a disappointment so far), Storm Duck (who made the team as an undrafted rookie last season), Kendall Sheffield (who signed last month after a tryout but hasn’t started a game since 2020), rookie fifth-rounder Jason Marshall Jr., undrafted rookies BJ Adams (from UCF) and Ethan Robinson (Minnesota), Ryan Cooper Jr. (a former Ohio State standout), Artie Burns (a former Miami Hurricanes standout who played 51 defensive snaps for Seattle last year), second-year player Isaiah Johnson and Ethan Bonner, who played just 16 defensive snaps last season and 27 over two years.
The Dolphins have maintained contact with veteran free agent cornerback Rasul Douglas, who rejected a Miami offer earlier this month. Douglas started 15 games for the Bills this season.
They’ve also inquired about former Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas standout and ex-Chargers free agent cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., a free agent who’s recovering from neck surgery. He expects to be able to play this season.
Other established cornerbacks still unsigned include James Bradberry, Stephon Gilmore, Mike Hilton and C.J Henderson. The Dolphins have been linked to Hilton, the former Bengals slot corner, at different times this offseason.
Ramsey -- who was a first-team All Pro in 2017, 2020 and 2021 -- presumably has finished his Dolphins career with 82 tackles, five interceptions and a sack in 27 games, all starts. He made the Pro Bowl in his first of two seasons in Miami.
The Dolphins will hold a mandatory minicamp Tuesday through Thursday, then adjourn until training camp begins the week of July 21.