Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey will have knee surgery, availability for season opener in doubt
Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey will undergo knee surgery, placing his availability for the start of the 2023 regular season in doubt, according to multiple reports.
Ramsey, the Dolphins’ top offseason addition, sustained an injury to his left knee toward the end of Miami’s second training camp practice Thursday. He rode a cart back to the team’s practice facility after limping to the sideline after a collision with wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the final period of team drills. Ramsey was evaluated on the ground by trainers for several minutes before being helped to his feet and then onto the cart.
NFL Network reported that Ramsey tore his meniscus in his left knee and will likely undergo a full meniscus repair, which would put him on track for a return around December. A meniscus trim would put Ramsey on a recovery timeline closer to the start of the regular season but the full repair is the better long-term option. ESPN reported that Ramsey’s ACL is intact.
The Dolphins open the regular season on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 10, six weeks from Sunday. The Dolphins could place Ramsey on injured reserve after the NFL’s roster cutdown day on Aug. 29, which would sideline him for at least the first four games of the season and give Miami a roster spot.
Shortly before news broke of Ramsey’s impending surgery, he wrote on Twitter that he would “be back on that field stronger than ever ... in due time!”
He later wrote: “That end of the season push gon be legendary!”
In March, the Dolphins traded a 2022 third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams for Ramsey, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection. Miami also agreed to a new three-year deal with $35.5 million in fully guaranteed money to facilitate the trade.
In Ramsey, the Dolphins acquired one of the NFL’s elite cover corners and were hoping to have one of the best tandems with him and fellow All-Pro Xavien Howard. With Ramsey, the hiring of coordinator Vic Fangio and the return of several talented up-and-comers, Miami has been regarded as a team that could feature a top-10 unit in 2023.
But Ramsey’s availability for the season opener — and the first half of the season — is now in question.
Ramsey’s injury will result in an increase in snaps for a host of the team’s corners, most notably Kader Kohou and second-round pick Cam Smith. Kohou, who started 13 games as an undrafted rookie in 2022, was the projected slot corner entering training camp and recorded the first interception of camp Thursday. The Dolphins selected Smith with the No. 51 overall pick and he has recorded multiple pass breakups in the first two days of camp.
Ramsey is just the latest Miami cornerback who is sidelined from training camp. Nik Needham began camp on the active/physically unable to perform list and has not yet been cleared from a torn Achilles he sustained last October. And Keion Crossen, a core special teamer, was not practicing Thursday for unknown reasons.
Fellow corner Trill Williams practiced on Wednesday for the first since tearing his ACL in last year’s preseason opener but did not participate in team drills and did not practice Thursday.
The other cornerbacks on the Dolphins’ roster include 2020 first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene, Ethan Bonner, Tino Ellis and Bryce Thompson.
This story has been updated.
This story was originally published July 27, 2023 at 6:30 PM.
