The Miami Dolphins have hinted at a great start in the offseason. They needed better cornerback play, and they just signed one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL Jalen Ramsey in an attempt to solve that problem.
The former Los Angeles Rams player played a vital role in his former team’s 2022 Super Bowl run, hence the Dolphins were probably waving sweet dreams with the cornerback after acquiring him in a bombastic trade. Unfortunately, their championship ambitions have seemingly taken a major hit as Ramsey could miss a good portion of the season as a Dolphin.
Jalen Ramsey to undergo knee surgery
The day when the Cincinnati Bengals acquired disappointing details about their seasoned player Joe Burrow was also noted as a red day for the Dolphins. Jalen had knee surgery on Friday after suffering a meniscus tear during training camp on Thursday.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that he will be out for six to eight weeks. The cornerback was expected to give the Dolphins a strong start, but his injury has made finding a replacement for him a headache for the team. After the surgery, Ramsey tweeted about his condition and expressed great optimism for the future in Miami. He also appeared to be feeling horrible about it.
Surgery went well 🙏🏾
To my teammates & fans, thank you for the prayers and support!! I promise I will attack this rehab and be back stronger than ever… this will just part of the greater story down the stretch! Adversity is opportunity! God is so great!
FIN5 UP! 🧡🩵🤟🏾— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) July 28, 2023
“Surgery went well. To my teammates & fans, thank you for the prayers and support!! I promise I will attack this rehab and be back stronger than ever… this will just part of the greater story down the stretch! Adversity is opportunity! God is so great! FIN5 UP!,” he said in a Tweet.
Dolphins forced to venture free agency following Ramsey setback
The 28-year-old might return just in time for the Dolphins’ Sept. 10 season opener against the Chargers. Even with an anticipated time frame, head coach McDaniel probably hoped he could be ready to play Week 1. However, the actual timeline might be lengthened or shortened.
“The length of this rehabilitation is kind of dictated on a couple of things that could occur in the surgery,” he explained. “The exact timeline is a little to be determined. What I can tell you is I don’t think the beginning of the regular season is really a part of the scenario. It’s going to be into the season and how deep that is depends kind of on what happens today.”
Last year the Dolphins had a 2-5 record versus teams that made the playoffs. Tyreek Hill’s injury has already cast doubt on the team’s offensive plan, and now Jalens’ injury has given them another cause for concern. The Dolphins front office likely searched for an answer with Cam Smith and Kader Kohou when the topic of how they will order their cornerbacks next came up.
Noah Igbinoghene and Xavien Howard could possibly be mentioned in this context. The Miami team likely needs to come up with a better answer, even though it comes after a catastrophic season in which they dropped their final five games to elite opposition. They can also look into the free agent market to see if they can find a better answer among some of the biggest free agent cornerbacks in the game such as Anthony Brown, Ronald Darby, etc.
Although the player and the head coach appeared to be quite optimistic about Ramsey’s recovery from injury, the Dolphins squad shouldn’t just sit around waiting for him to return.
