Tag: Jalen Ramsey

Watch: Jalen Ramsey bangs the drum before Panthers’ first playoff game

Jalen Ramsey fired up the crowd at Amerant Bank Arena before the Panthers’ playoff game against the Lightning.

The Florida Panthers’ pursuit of the Stanley Cup started Sunday with Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jalen Ramsey was there to cheer on the home team.

The Miami Dolphins cornerback got things started at Amerant Bank Arena with some hits on the Panthers’ drum.

Ramsey is far from the first Dolphins star to bang the drum before a Panthers game.

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Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa did it before a regular season game in 2022, head coach Mike McDaniel got the crowd fired up before an Eastern Conference Finals game last year, and Dolphins legend Dan Marino banged the drum before a Stanley Cup Finals game.

Ramsey, who was acquired by the Dolphins in a March 2023, has been soaking up the South Florida sports scene in his first full offseason with the team. On Friday night, he was courtside at the Heat’s play-in game against the Chicago Bulls at Kaseya Center.

Earlier this offseason, the Dolphins restructured Ramsey’s contract to clear nearly $20 million in salary cap space.

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Jalen Ramsey launches vlog to peel back curtain on offseason work

Jalen Ramsey is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the work he does in the offseason.

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the offseason work that has made him one of the NFL’s best.

On Monday, the seven-time Pro Bowler announced that he’s launching a vlog to document his training ahead of the 2024 season:

“This is my first offseason in, I think three years now, that I’ve been healthy,” Ramsey said in the vlog. “So y’all are going to see, really, what I envision an offseason looking like for me. What I envision an offseason looking like for me to be at the tip-top performance of where I want to be.

“I’m super excited for that. This is my first offseason like that since the year right before the Super Bowl in LA. So that’s exciting for me, that was one of the best years in my career.”

Ramsey was acquired by the Dolphins in a 2023 trade that sent a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams. After suffering a meniscus tear in training camp, Ramsey returned in late October and finished the year with three interceptions in 10 games.

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D.J. Chark details ‘toxic’ environment that doomed the 2018 Jaguars

Former Jaguars receiver DJ Chark shared a couple stories about the “toxic” locker room he walked into in 2018.

When DJ Chark was picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2018 NFL draft, he joined a team fresh off a trip to the AFC Championship. But in his four seasons with the Jaguars, the team won just 15 combined games.

So how did a team loaded with talent, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, fall apart so fast?

In an appearance on a podcast hosted by Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens, Chark said things were a mess behind the scenes in Jacksonville.

“When I first got there, there was times where — this might be like OTAs — the d-line would be beefing with the corners,” Chark said. “The linemen are like ‘we’re getting all these picks and takeaways because we’re getting to the quarterback.’ And the corners are like ‘Y’all getting these sacks, because we’re covering everybody.'”

Perhaps the biggest personality in the locker room at the time, Jalen Ramsey, took to social media to deny Chark’s claim.

Later, Chark detailed another small issue that snowballed into something more in the locker room.

“I remember two people arguing over who uses the handicap shower,” Chark said. “The handicap shower always had a little seat you can shower in, you can take the seat. A player claimed that, ‘This is my shower.’ So when somebody else used it, it was a problem.”

After the 2018 season, the Jaguars parted with Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, Ramsey was traded during the 2019 season, and A.J. Bouye, Calais Campbell, and Yannick Ngakoue were all traded in 2020.

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Recent cornerback moves are proof Saints should not trade Marshon Lattimore

Poor returns on recent cornerback trades are proof the Saints shouldn’t deal Marshon Lattimore. It’s in their best interest to mend what’s broken:

NFL teams will tell you how they value a player by the contracts they hand out and what they’re willing to send in trades with one another. And while cornerback remains a premium position, players being swapped for draft picks are not bringing back very strong returns. Not even great ones like Jalen Ramsey. It means the New Orleans Saints shouldn’t expect a great haul of draft picks for trading Marshon Lattimore, either.

As noted by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, high-end corners like Ramsey, Carlton Davis, and Rasul Douglas have all been traded in the last 12 months. Here’s what those trades brought back:

  • Jalen Ramsey: Traded for a third-round pick and backup tight end
  • Carlton Davis: Traded with two sixth rounders for a third-round pick
  • Rasul Douglas: Traded with a fifth rounder for a third-round pick

That’s a sorry return for three players who are all healthier and/or more productive than Lattimore over the last two years. Lattimore has 12 passes broken up across 17 games with just a pair of interceptions, compared to Douglas (14 PBU’s and 5 interceptions in 16 games), Davis (21 PBU’s and 3 interceptions in 25 games), and Ramsey (23 PBU’s and 7 interceptions in 27 games).

Saints fans aren’t going to want to hear that, but it isn’t a diss at Lattimore. He’s played football at an incredibly high level even if his best work isn’t reflected on the stats sheet. He’s shut down DK Metcalf, DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans in recent games. But when you look at the impact plays where he’s breaking up passes or taking the ball away, there are players with better numbers being traded for inconsequential picks around the league.

And that’s what the Saints would be hearing if they started shopping Lattimore around. A third rounder and a late-round pick is the rumored price for Kansas City Chiefs franchise-tagged corner L’Jarius Sneed, too, and he’s someone else with more pass deflections (25), interceptions (5), and games played (33) than Lattimore the last two years. Saints fans are reasonably wanting a first-round pick and more for Lattimore, but teams aren’t going to offer that.

Which is why this situation shouldn’t get to that point anyway. If this is the best trade offer the Saints could expect then it’s worth more to them to mend whatever’s broken. They’ve let it known that their frustrations with Lattimore’s lengthy recovery from injuries has boiled over. At the same time, it hasn’t reached a point where Lattimore has requested a trade or been granted permission to seek one. The Saints haven’t made calls to see who might be interested in cutting a deal. They’re open to it, which is why they restructured his contract to facilitate a trade.

But there’s reason to think everyone can be adults here, including Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis. To his credit, Allen was complimentary of Lattimore when asked about him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Loomis was more guarded when Lattimore’s unique restructure came up in his end-of-year press conference. Those two men are more responsible for the team’s success than anyone else in the building. They need to get on the same page with their four-time Pro Bowler.

This relationship isn’t too far gone. Lattimore showed up on the sideline to support his teammates in the regular season finale, unlike other injured players like Michael Thomas, who had already accepted he wouldn’t be back for 2024. He hasn’t been critical of anyone on social media. He’s taken the high road. It’s clear they won’t get a trade package back that would justify trading Lattimore. It’s time they put this speculation to rest and insure Lattimore will be making plays for New Orleans, not some other team, in 2024 and beyond.

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Dolphins restructure four contracts to become cap compliant

Dolphins create a ton of cap space by restructuring four contracts given out in the last two seasons.

The Miami Dolphins have been quite active in recent days, as they try to get cap-compliant by the start of the new league year, and they continued that trend on Monday.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Dolphins have restructured the contracts of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Zach Sieler, Alec Ingold and Durham Smythe, freeing up roughly $28.78 million in cap space.

Prior to the agreed signing of linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. on Monday evening, Miami was roughly $25 million over the salary cap, according to Over the Cap. So, they should be compliant now, but they’ll need to make more moves if they want to sign any free agents.

Ramsey, 29, was traded to the Dolphins last offseason, and the two sides immediately agreed to an adjusted contract. The cornerback missed a good portion of the 2023 season due to a meniscus injury that he suffered in just his second training camp session, but he came back looking as sharp as ever.

Sieler, 28, signed an extension last offseason and repaid Miami by putting up his best season to date, which included playing in every game for the fourth straight season and recording 10 sacks.

Ingold, 27, also received an extension last August before making the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career and helping the Dolphins have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL.

Smythe, 28, received a new two-year contract in 2022 and was asked to be the team’s top tight end in 2023 for the first time. He had his best season statistically (35 receptions for 366 yards were both career highs), but he failed to find the end zone.

Report: Dolphins expected to finalize bringing back DB Nik Needham

The Dolphins keep another one of their DBs around.

Per Barry Jackson, the Dolphins are interested in bringing back defensive back, Nik Needham. An undrafted free agent in 2019, Needham re-signed with Miami last season, and clearly, the versatile boundary cornerback/turn slot-specialist/safety candidate’s work is not done in South Florida.

The potential deal will help maintain consistency in a secondary that will not have Xavien Howard, the longest-tenured defensive Dolphin from last year’s team. Connecting some dots, as a rookie, Needham subbed in for an injured Howard and performed well on the outside in 2019, playing in 12 games in which he started 11. He registered 11 passes defensed, including two interceptions in relief.

Needham followed his rookie year with two consecutive seasons in which he registered a pair of interceptions, and in 2021, he was considered a top-tier slot corner in the entire NFL. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, his 2021 coverage grade from the slot was the best in the league (90.8), as he didn’t allow a single touchdown from that area of the field that season. 2022 was looking to continue that momentum until an Achilles injury occurred in Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, ending his season.

2023 was essentially a wash, as Needham rehabbed his injury and returned to the 53-man roster yet didn’t have ample opportunity to show his skills to then-defensive coordinator Vic Fangio during OTAs and training camp. A new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver could create a chance for Needham to return to his 2021 form if utilized in the slot, or should he be a prime candidate to step in for Xavien Howard, as he has proven to handle that task as well.

Intriguing as well is the fact that Needham has safety ability, and Miami does have a few more unrestricted free agents in DeShon Elliott and Brandon Jones to think about. The move to retain Needham creates flexibility, and it’s a bit unknown how this Dolphins’ secondary will look in 2024. All-World defensive back Jalen Ramsey could be used a bit more as a chess piece with this new scheme, and like Needham, fellow defensive backs Cam Smith and Kader Kohou could be moved around to different spots in the defensive backfield.

Whatever happens with the rest of the secondary, the defense, and the Dolphins, as a whole, is still up in the air. However, as this week ends, re-signing Needham was a step in the right direction. His work ethic, overall knowledge of the game, and potential are all reasons he was re-signed yet again by the team that saw his ability as a college student and took a chance on him five years ago.

Over his five-season career with the Dolphins, Needham has recorded 199 total tackles, 25 passes defensed, six interceptions, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. He also took an interception to the house against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football back in 2021, a “Nik-6” as some would call it.

EDIT: The deal has been agreed to, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Dolphins on the path to 2024 salary cap compliance

A path for Miami to get cap compliant by the start of the league year.

The Miami Dolphins are officially in salary cap-cutting mode heading into next week’s free agency and trading opening around the league.

Miami has made several business decisions this week, most notably deciding not to franchise tag defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, which will allow him to hit the open market in free agency

In addition to passing on putting the tag on the league’s leading tackler among all defensive tackles since 2019, general manager Chris Grier and the Dolphins have parted with linebacker Jerome Baker.

There were reported attempts to renegotiate his contract, but Baker was ultimately released. While there could be a window in a few months to bring him back on a discounted deal, this move was inevitable for the Dolphins to get cap-compliant next week.

Baker’s release frees up roughly $9.8 million in salary cap 2024 for the Dolphins and comes with a dead cap of $4.9 million. The team also saved $2.9 million for 2024 by releasing defensive back and special teamer Keion Crossen.

Miami enters Wednesday, March 6, over the 2024 salary cap by $18.83 million. In exactly a week, at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams must be under the cap, and while that negative $18.8 million may seem daunting, there are several paths to getting into the black here.

Remember, this number doesn’t include the roughly $18 million that Miami will recoup post-June 1 from the Xavien Howard release. Of course, that money will be aimed at paying the rookie draft class, the second wave of free agency, any potential holdovers of potential re-signings of unrestricted free agents, or even a person like Baker.

Getting cap compliant can come from several combinations, and while restructuring contracts does kick the can down the road a bit, strategic reworkings of contracts for specific players could give Grier the keys to unlock what would be needed to retain and even bring in the proper talent.

With unrestricted free agents like Andrew Van Ginkel, Robert Hunt and Connor Williams joining Wilkins in this class, the Dolphins will have plenty of work to do in the next few days, even to give themselves the chips to sit in the middle of the table and offer some or even one of these players.

The easiest path to freeing money is via cuts, and there are about a half-dozen candidates for non-core players like a depth running back and backup linebacker, which can add several million back into Miami’s 2024 cap.

Restructuring veterans’ deals would be a more hazardous road with more work. Here are the players whose contracts could be restructured to help the Dolphins with their 2024 cap and upcoming free-agency efforts.

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill is contracted through 2026, and restructuring his contract would save approximately $12.54 million in the 2024 cap, per Over the Cap. This would kick that money down the line over those next two years of the contract by around $7 million each on those salary caps in 2025 and 2026.

Cornerback Jalen Ramsey has the easiest path to a near-instant compliance scenario. He’s set to have a potential 2024 restructure savings of $18.67 million, and according to Over the Cap, about $5-6 million in each of 2025 and 2026 would be added to those cap figures.

With these two contracts being the most fiscally beneficial for the Dolphins, another tricky option could be with linebacker Bradley Chubb. Regardless of saving around $14 million in potential 2024 savings on a restructure, moving money down the line on an injured player whose contract has an out next season may not be the most prudent move for Miami financially.

Another name to watch for potential easy restructuring is Zach Sieler, which could add around $5.5 million for 2024 while just placing about $3 million in 2025 and 2026.

Alec Ingold can work a quick restructure and save $1.7 million for 2024 without making a significant dent in the following years.

Lastly, the two longest-tenured Dolphins in Durham Smythe and Jason Sanders can restructure their contracts to free up $1.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively.

Miami has several paths to salary cap freedom and flexibility to do business when the free agency and trade markets open in a week. The question is, just how much business can they get away with, and how significant will that potential business be?

The action should continue this week. On March 11, teams can negotiate with their own unrestricted free agents, and just two days later, it’s open season for NFL moves around the league’s landscape.

The Saints would be fools to accept this Marshon Lattimore trade offer

The Saints would be fools to accept this Marshon Lattimore trade offer. Trading a great player requires great compensation:

Speculation is picking up on what the New Orleans Saints may do with cornerback Marshon Lattimore this offseason. It makes sense — the pro football world just gathered in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine and Lattimore’s unique contract restructure signaled to teams that he could be available in a trade. But what could the Saints get back from him?

In an otherwise very thorough, informative, and well-conceived analysis of the situation, Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald missed the mark in suggesting what sort of compensation the Saints could hope for in trading Lattimore. When considering what New Orleans might get back, he suggested:

Probably not too much. Jalen Ramsey who was just one year older was traded for a 3rd round pick and a 3rd round tight end who never saw the field in two years. Lattimore is not considered as good as Ramsey and has a far more extensive injury history. Both cases are going to be seen as salary dumps which lessens the value. So you might be looking at something like a 5th round pick being the base compensation. The benefit for the Saints is because this would be a trade that happens post draft it may be easier to get conditions on availability and team success that could get it close to the Ramsey range. The Saints would probably want to get the trade done before the start of camp which would limit their liability in the event of Lattimore being injured in camp.

That would be a major disappointment for Saints fans, and arguably a fireable offense for general manager Mickey Loomis. Great players require great compensation, and a fifth rounder hardly matches that description. Fitzgerald is wrong to characterize this as a salary dump — the Saints aren’t open to trading Lattimore because he’s making too much money. They’re open to trading him because of a conflict with either head coach Dennis Allen or the team medical staff (or both), and the explicit consideration that Lattimore is one of the few assets the team could hope to trade and get back something worthwhile to help rebuild their roster.

And it’s inaccurate to suggest Lattimore is “not considered as good as Ramsey” because if Lattimore isn’t in that conversation, then who is? Even if Lattimore has missed 17 games to injuries over the last two years, he’s tied for the 17th-most interceptions (7) and 14th-most passes defensed (42) among cornerbacks since the 2020 season. Compare that to Ramsey’s 8 interceptions and 30 pass breakups in the same span, with Ramsey appearing in 11 more games. Obviously there’s more to the position than this but it’s disrespectful to Lattimore to undersell his performance like this.

Back to the Saints. It would be absurd for them to accept a fifth-round pick in exchange for Lattimore’s services. He’s worth so much more to the team than what any fifth-round rookie could hope to achieve. Since Jeff Ireland joined the scouting department back in 2015 the Saints have picked just one fifth rounder who spent his entire four-year contract with New Orleans; defensive tackle Tyeler Davison. Each of their other fifth-round picks has flopped, though it’s early for special teams linebacker D’Marco Jackson and second-year safety Jordan Howden.

Still. Unless the Saints are desperate to move Lattimore, and there’s no indication they are without him being granted permission to seek a trade (to say nothing of New Orleans not actively shopping him at this week’s combine), it’s going to take a good offer to pry him away. It has to. It would be unacceptable for Loomis to sell so low on one of the team’s most talented playerse.

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Looking back at how Dolphins’ current stars performed at the NFL combine

A look back at how current Dolphins did during the combine.

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is taking place this week with players from colleges around the country displaying their strengths and weaknesses on the field and in the meeting rooms for teams to see.

In less than two months, all 32 teams, including the Miami Dolphins, will add young talent to their rosters in this year’s draft with many decision-makers taking a lot of information from the combine.

Before the event finishes, let’s look at how some of Miami’s current stars performed when they took part in the past.

Jalen Ramsey suggests Vic Fangio misused Dolphins’ CBs, Should Eagles be worried?

After Miami announced they were releasing Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey says he won’t forgive Vic Fangio for misusing the Dolphins cornerbacks

Vic Fangio brought his talents to Philadelphia, and Jalen Ramsey is among those in Miami who didn’t shed any tears about his departure.

During the Pro Bowl, Ramsey stated that he “wished Fangio well,” but his real feelings came out after it was revealed that the Dolphins would release star cornerback Xavien Howard.

After the release was reported, Ramsey took to social media to proclaim Howard as the “best cornerback in Dolphins history.”

Ramsey’s comments at the bottom of the post should be most concerning for the Eagles, as he suggested that someone failed to utilize the talents of two All-Pro caliber cornerbacks properly.

Last season, the Dolphins were 19th in the DVOA rankings.

Miami finished 10th in yards allowed (18th in 2022) and ninth in yards allowed per play (14th in 2022) with Fangio as defensive coordinator. The Dolphins also finished third in the NFL in sacks (56) and tied for eighth in forced turnovers (27).

The Eagles were No. 26 in yards and No. 30 in points allowed.

Ramsey’s comments could worry some Eagles fans, but Philadelphia’s last two defensive coordinators were Fangio disciples, and they likely misused Darius Slay and James Bradberry at times.

Fangio’s scheme implements some man-coverage principles and creates a lot of versatility in his defensive calls. His defense focuses on limiting explosive plays with heavy zone coverage and looks that give opposing offenses a chance to run the ball.

Fangio’s defenses don’t blitz a lot either, with the idea being to limit explosive passing plays, force teams to run the football, and then win with four pass rushers up front.

With Fangio now in Philadelphia, Ramsey and the Dolphins defenders should be pleased with Anthony Weaver and his defensive approach.

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