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After months of speculation, the Miami Dolphins finally executed a Jalen Ramsey trade, sending the star cornerback to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Ramsey no longer on the roster, we'll be making our updated 2025 Dolphins season predictions.
While the news still shook up the league, it was not a surprise, as the Dolphins confirmed their intentions to trade Ramsey before the 2025 NFL Draft. General manager Chris Grier initially had trouble finding suitors willing to match his high asking price, but he appeared to lower his expectations enough to find Ramsey a new home.
Miami also sent tight end Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh while receiving safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The 28-year-old safety ironically returns to the team nearly six years after the Dolphins traded him to the Steelers. The teams also swapped 2027 draft picks, with Miami receiving Pittsburgh's fifth-rounder in exchange for its seventh-round selection.
The trade certainly shakes up both teams' rosters, while creating as many questions as it did answers. While Fitzpatrick fills the void left behind by Jevon Holland, Ramsey's departure creates a massive vacancy at cornerback. Miami opted not to re-sign Kendall Fuller in free agency, giving defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver two starting spots to fill.
Grier managed to resolve the Ramsey situation, but still has several other internal issues to address. Star receiver Tyreek Hill has created a great deal of chaos in the offseason, making him one of the top names to monitor on the trade market, despite his rescinding his previous request. Regardless of what happens, the Dolphins are likely far from done making moves. Either way, here are our 2025 Dolphins season predictions following the Jalen Ramsey trade.
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Dolphins will make another blockbuster trade
Whether it is moving Hill or acquiring another cornerback to replace Ramsey, another blockbuster deal seems in store for Miami. While some foresee the Dolphins blowing it up, they are still within the realm of title contention. Grier's direction remains unclear after dealing Ramsey.
If they still hope to contend, the Dolphins desperately need another top-level cornerback to replace Ramsey. Landing Fitzpatrick eased the pain, but Miami is facing the unenviable task of replacing both starting cornerbacks in 2025. Storm Duck, who underwhelmed as a rookie with a subpar 55.5 Pro Football Focus player grade, is the team's top remaining option.
If they do embrace a full rebuild, the Dolphins have many inflated deals Grier would love to get off his books. Hill tops the list, but Bradley Chubb, Tua Tagovailoa, Jaylen Waddle, Zach Sieler and Austin Jackson would all suddenly become available.
Given the state of their roster, a rebuild is not likely in the Dolphins' future. Everything Grier has said thus far suggests he is still all-in on a title run. Yet, in that case, the team desperately needs help in ways the current free agency market cannot provide. The further one digs, the more the Ramsey trade seems more like the first move than the only one.
The Dolphins missed out on Jaire Alexander, who would have been a suitable Ramsey replacement. However, they can still make more noise in the trade market, with Greg Newsome II, Jonathan Jones, Damarri Mathis, Derion Kendrick and JuJu Brents among the available cornerbacks Grier should chase.
Minkah Fitzpatrick returns to All-Pro level
Minkah Fitzpatrick's initial tenure with the Dolphins was brief, but he has a chance to rectify the situation in 2025. After forcing his way out of Miami the first time around, Fitzpatrick can now become the player fans hoped he would have been all along.
Fitzpatrick was unhappy with the Dolphins in 2019, primarily due to his role on the defense. His main issue was with then-head coach Brian Flores, who is no longer with the team. Under Mike McDaniel and Weaver, Fitzpatrick should be free to settle into his natural free safety position, one that he earned three All-Pro nods in. While he has not made an All-Pro team since 2022, a homecoming could be the bump he needs to return to that level.
It is not as if Fitzpatrick has fallen off; he has made the Pro Bowl in each of the last three seasons. He has not been on par with the league's elite safeties. His situation appeared to get murkier in 2025 with the addition of Juan Thornhill and rookie Sebastian Castro to the Steelers' secondary, but a move to Miami gives him free rein over the defense once again.
In his first year as the Dolphins' defensive coordinator, Weaver maintained Miami's elite secondary. They allowed the ninth-lowest completion percentage, second-fewest yards per pass and 10th-fewest passing yards per game in 2024. Much of their success went hand-in-hand with the team's offensive struggles during Tagovailoa's injury absence, but looked every bit like a “no-fly zone” all season.
Fitzpatrick and Holland are functionally different players, but both thrive as roaming free safeties in two-high safety looks. Weaver featured Holland extensively in 2024, suggesting he will do the same with Fitzpatrick.
Dolphins lead league in sacks in 2025 without Jalen Ramsey
Typically, defensive secondaries and pass-rushing go hand-in-hand with one another. The logic is simple: the better a secondary can contain opposing receivers, the more time pass-rushers have to get home. Losing a player like Jalen Ramsey figures to be detrimental to the Dolphins' pass-rushers on paper, but should easily be a better unit in 2025.
The Dolphins managed just 35 sacks in 2024, sixth-fewest in the league. Their lack of sacks and turnovers were the main weaknesses of what was otherwise an elite pass defense. With the same core returning in 2025, improvement seems doubtful.
However, after injuries decimated the unit in 2024, a fully healthy Dolphins defense boasts one of the best defensive lines in the league. Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, the team's two best edge-rushers, both missed the majority of 2024, with Chubb spending the entire season on the physically unable to perform list. Miami expects both to return in the fall.
Chubb and Phillips return to a group that received significant improvement from Zach Sieler in 2024, and are already liking the offseason improvement of former first-round pick Chop Robinson. The Dolphins added another menacing pass-rusher in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft when they took Kenneth Grant at No. 13. As an elite interior pass-rusher, Grant gives the team a new threat it did not have in 2024.
While the Dolphins' pass-rushing disappointed in 2024, it is an area in which Weaver has historically thrived. The longtime defensive coordinator has an extensive background as a defensive line coach, with success in that role with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and Cleveland Browns. Adding Chubb, Phillips and Grant to the returning Sieler and Robinson gives Weaver six formidable pass-rushers to work with.
The Dolphins might not be an elite defense in 2025, but they will have a top-notch pass-rushing unit. As long as Grier adds another veteran cornerback to his current roster, Miami should not have much reason to panic.
