The Pittsburgh Steelers completed a trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones confirmed the deal. And in exchange for Ramsey, the Dolphins get five-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Fitzpatrick returns to the place where his career began as a first-round pick out of Alabama.
Full terms of the trade include tight end Jonnu Smith going to Pittsburgh along with a 2027 seventh-round pick. In addition to Fitzpatrick, Miami gets a 2027 fifth-round drat pick from the Steelers.
Ramsey and the Dolphins reached a mutual agreement to part ways this spring, and Miami searched for a trade partner ever since. ESPN’s Adam Schefer reports that Ramsey will get a $1.5 million raise in Pittsburgh, bringing his 2025-26 salary to $26.6 million.
Ramsey skipped all of the Dolphins’ mandatory minicamp in light of trade discussions. Ramsey was under contract with the Dolphins through 2028 and his recent extension made him the NFL‘s highest-paid cornerback. Miami needed to find trade partner willing to absorb his sizable contract, which included a $16.6 million cap hit for the 2025 season.
Pittsburgh overhauled its cornerback room this offseason with the additions of Darius Slay and now, a premiere threat in Ramsey. With a mix of budding superstars and proven veterans on defense in 2025, the Steelers take aim at the AFC following the recent signing of four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to lead the other side of the football.
The previous belief was that Ramsey wanted to get back to the West Coast, but now in Pittsburgh, Ramsey goes to a potential contender in search of their first playoff win in eight seasons under Mike Tomlin.
Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said this spring Ramsey’s days with the franchise were likely numbered and it’s in the “best interest for all parties” to move. In return, Miami brings back Fitzpatrick, whom the Dolphins selected with the No. 11 pick in the 2018 draft. Fitzpatrick played 18 games for Miami before the Dolphins shipped him to Pittsburgh in 2019. Fitzpatrick is a five-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro with 608 career tackles and 20 interceptions in 106 games.
Ramsey missed the Pro Bowl last season for the first time since 2016, managing only two interceptions. Los Angeles was thought to be the frontrunner for Ramsey before Pittsburgh jumped the line.
Ramsey, was a three-time first-team All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowler with the Rams from 2019-22. The Rams initially acquired Ramsey midway through the 2019 season via a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And while Ramsey left on good terms, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said earlier this month there was still a long way to go for re-marriage to happen.
“Usually, those are scenarios and situations that you have to have plans in place prior to executing some of the decisions that have occurred,” McVay said at Los Angeles’ minicamp. “Definitely don’t want to rule anything out because we’re always open-minded to onboarding and acquiring quality players and people like him if we’re able to do that, but there would be some obstacles that are real that are in the place of maybe preventing that from occurring.”
The plan for Miami was to deal Ramsey after June 1 for cap reasons and the Dolphins were able to accomplish their goal.
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Author: Brad Crawford
June 30, 2025 | 11:35 am
