The Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins pulled off a blockbuster trade on Monday that involved three different players and two draft picks. The Steelers are sending Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami in exchange for both Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey. That’s right, the Steelers acquired two players in the deal.
Here’s a look at the overall terms of the deal:
Steelers get
- CB Jalen Ramsey
- TE Jonnu Smith
- 2027 seventh round pick
Dolphins get:
- S Minkah Fitzpatrick
- 2027 fifth round pick
With that in mind, let’s grade this monster of a trade.
Steelers: A-
It’s been a busy offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve already made multiple big moves over the past several months and they made another one on Monday by acquiring both Jalen Ramsey and Smith.
The Ramsey part of this deal is interesting because the Steelers now have a crowded cornerback room. With Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay already on the roster, the Steelers didn’t necessarily need to add a corner, but when a three-time All-Pro like Ramsey becomes available, it’s hard to say no.
Ramsey has been one of the NFL’s best corners since being taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft. Since his rookie season, he’s totaled 108 passes defended, which is the third-most in the NFL over the span, trailing only Slay and James Bradberry.
Slay, Porter and Ramsey can all play the outside, but the Steelers will only need two of them on the job. That could put Mike Tomlin in a position where he’s able to use Ramsey any way that he sees fit. Ramsey has plenty of experience in the slot, so he could certainly be used there. Also, Slay is 34, so if they want to keep him fresh, they could put Ramsey on the outside. Having too many corners is a good problem to have and if anyone can figure out how to make this work, it’s Tomlin. The Steelers defense, even with the loss of Fitzpatrick, is now loaded. That being said, the Steelers do now have a huge question mark at free safety where it appears that Juan Thornhill will now be penciled in as the starter.
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Offensively, the addition of Smith makes a lot of sense. The Steelers now have another tight end to complement Pat Freiermuth. Not to mention, Smith is incredibly familiar with Steelers’ offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who served as Jonnu’s tight ends coach in Tennessee during his rookie season in 2017. Overall, the two Smiths have spent a total of five seasons together with two different teams (Titans and Falcons). Since Jonnu already knows the offense so well, it should be easy for him to fit in.
Financially, this deal won’t break the bank for the Steelers. Ramsey doesn’t have any guaranteed money left after the 2025 season, according to Over the Cap (Ramsey will make a total of $26.6 million this year after getting a $1.5 million raise from the Steelers, according to NFL.com). As for Smith, he’s getting a one-year, $12 million extension, which means he’s now under contract for the next two years at $16 million.
The Steelers are likely only going to have one season with Aaron Rodgers and they appear to be doing their best to make sure that they can win a Super Bowl while he’s in Pittsburgh.
Dolphins: C
For the Dolphins, this trade is a bit trickier to grade. On one hand, they were able to free up some salary cap space by getting rid of both Smith and Ramsey, but they also have to pay Fitzpatrick over $15 million in 2025, so some of their cap savings will go toward that.
The fact that the Dolphins traded Ramsey wasn’t overly surprising. The veteran cornerback had been on the trade market since mid-April when Dolphins general manager Chris Grier announced that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways. The Dolphins spent more than two months exploring their trade options before making the deal with Pittsburgh.
The Dolphins had also been shopping Smith and they had been in talks with the Steelers earlier this offseason about a possible trade and although it took more than a month, the two sides were finally able to hammer out a deal.
The Dolphins got rid of two disgruntled players, but the problem is that both players still have a lot left in the tank. Ramsey was the best cornerback on their roster last year and trading him away makes their secondary worse. As for Smith, he caught 88 passes last season, which led the team. He also finished with 884 receiving yards, which was second on the roster behind only Tyreek Hill. By trading away their best corner and their leading receiver from last season, the Dolphins definitely didn’t get better on the field with this trade.
The Dolphins had a huge need at safety, so the addition of Fitzpatrick will help, especially since Miami let Jevon Holland walk in free agency, but the 28-year-old has been on a very slight downswing over the past two years with just one total interception since the start of the 2023 season. If Fitzpatrick returns to his 2022 form, this could be a huge move for Miami.
Fitzpatrick actually started his career with the Dolphins, so the return to South Beach could end up being the perfect spot for him.
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Author: John Breech
June 30, 2025 | 11:45 am
