Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier once again went all out to bolster his team’s defense, acquiring Jalen Ramsey from the Los Angeles Rams in one of the biggest blockbuster trades of the offseason. The Dolphins sent a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Rams in the deal.

Ramsey will play football in the state of Florida for the third time in his career. The veteran cornerback blossomed during his run at Florida State, and he then went on to make a name for himself in the NFL in his four-season tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The opportunity to once again play football in Florida coupled with the formidable players across the board on the Dolphins defense were among the reasons why he wanted to take his talents to Miami.

“A lot of reasons,” Ramsey said during his introductory press conference with the Dolphins. “This defense, this secondary. You look at it on paper, it’s something that you would definitely want to be a part of, I know I’m not the only person who wanted to be a part of it and will want to be a part of it in the future.

“Being back in Florida, that’s a great thing for me. Closer to my family. … It’s a good young team on the up and up. I feel like I can bring something to help them. Just be another piece to that puzzle here.”

Ramsey does not have a no-trade clause in the five-year, $105 million extension deal that he signed off on while with the Rams in 2020, so he has no final say in any trade. He was linked with multiple teams following the conclusion of the Rams’ 2022 season, including the Dallas Cowboys.

After hearing about the speculation regarding his future with the Rams, Ramsey decided to jot down a list of teams that he would be open to joining, which included the Dolphins.

“I didn’t necessarily think I would be traded but once it kind of started to be reality, me and my team, we sat down and we kind of wrote the pros and cons of different situations going on and we wrote down teams and pros and cons, like which teams may be in need of a corner, which teams may be interested, which teams do I like as well, which teams will I fit whatever they got going on,” Ramsey said. “I remember writing down Miami, and Miami stayed at the top of my list from the jump.

“So then I just started praying about it and all started to visualize for me. So I’m ready.”

Ramsey capped off his run with the Rams after four seasons. He tallied 10 interceptions in 57 such regular season games, and he played an instrumental role in their Super Bowl-winning run in the 2021 campaign.