NFL Expert Says Miami Dolphins’ Trade Not About Winning Now

The Miami Dolphins just completed a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers that sent cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith to Western Pennsylvania in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The full trade details are here.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Dolphins are making these big trades to help move some money around.

“This wasn’t totally out of left field, even though Ramsey was one of Miami’s cornerstone players,” writes Trevor Sikkema. “For months, it had been reported that Ramsey, who is now 30 years old, was looking for more, or reworked, money in his contract, given the cornerback contracts that have been signed this offseason. It seemed unlikely that was going to happen in Miami; a move wasn’t an “if” but rather a “when.”

It’s not known exactly what the money situation was like between the Dolphins and Ramsey. Some have speculated that it was more about philosophical differences than money. It’s tough to see how it could be about just the money when Ramsey just signed a huge three-year, $72.3 million contract in 2024, leaving his bank account far fuller than it should be.

It’s not that Ramsey can’t play anymore, but he’s in decline and that’s a lot of money. Still, PFF still has a very solid grade on him.

“Despite playing a position that doesn’t age well, Ramsey remained one of the more reliable defensive backs in the league in 2024,” Sikkema continued. “He earned a 76.9 overall grade in 2024 with an 85.7 run-defense grade and 71.6 coverage grade, all while playing both slot and wide corner. Nonetheless, the Dolphins clearly weren’t interested in giving the money Ramsey was seeking in the form of totals or guarantees, so they found a trade partner in Pittsburgh.”

This move doesn’t help the Dolphins win games in 2025

According to PFF, this Ramsey trade was about future cap flexibility. That’s interesting considering Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has been on the job since 2016 and he’s aware of his own vocational mortality. The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000 and Phins fans are getting restless.

“Ramsey was likely looking to get some of that money moved and reworked, something the Dolphins clearly weren’t willing to do, as the 2025 season feels like a make-or-break year for just about everyone in the organization,” Sikkema writes. “They were able to move Ramsey and his contract to the Steelers, who reportedly are giving him a $1.5 million raise this year.

“In exchange, the Dolphins take on Fitzpatrick’s contract, which only has two years remaining (no void years) and no guaranteed money on it at a lower price a few million dollars in cap space this and next year while creating the flexibility to move on from Fitzpatrick next offseason with a lot of potential 2026 cap relief.”

That should be great news for the new incoming regime after the Dolphins go 7-10 and fail to make the playoffs. The Dolphins were looking at an uphill battle as it was and now they just lost perhaps their best defensive player (depending on one’s opinion) and their most effective offensive starter from 2024.

Should some of this be on Tua?

Former Cincinnati Bengals‘ (2011-2013) and Cleveland Browns‘ (2014-2016) wide receiver Andrew Hawkins recently said on “First Take” that Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow is partly to blame for his team’s disastrous salary cap situation.

“I think everyone’s had a hand in it,” Hawkins said on “First Take.” “When you look at Joe Burrow — a top-five quarterback — there’s going to be holes in your team whenever you’re getting paid what you’re getting paid.

“More importantly, he made it very clear that he wanted his guys; he wanted Higgins and he wanted Chase. Get the deals done, I don’t care. So when that happens, now some of this is on your shoulders as well to make whatever the circumstances are… work.”

If that’s true (and it’s a tiny part of the Bengals’ larger issues if it is), then why wouldn’t Tua Tagovailoa share some responsibility for the Dolphins’ cap woes? Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract in July of last year and accounts for 14.03% of this year’s salary cap.

Should he shoulder some blame? He didn’t give himself the contract just like Burrow didn’t sign himself either. This is squarely on the Dolphins. Grier is now trying to fix the future in Miami when – if they don’t start winning playoff games now – he might not even have one.