The Dolphins have been continuously optimistic about the recovery of cornerback Jalen Ramsey from what was reported to be a full meniscus repair that the veteran underwent in late-July, originally expressing hope that he could be back from knee surgery as soon as November. It appears that Ramsey is set to surpass even that extremely optimistic deadline as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the All-Pro cornerback is expected to return this Sunday against the Patriots.
The Dolphins stunned many when they opened his 21-day practice window last Wednesday. By doing so, the team was risking losing Ramsey to season-ending injured reserve if he was unable to make a return by the end of the 21 days. Although nothing is official yet, the finish line appears to be in view for Ramsey’s insanely speedy recovery.
The injury, originally thought to be a displaced meniscus tear, which would’ve required that full meniscus repair, was apparently an outer rim meniscal tear, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, allowing the injury to be repaired with a trim. A full repair would’ve necessitated a recovery timeline of five to six months, while an outer rim tear, which receives better blood flow, can heal on a timeline closer to 12 weeks. That seems to explain the change from a late-season return prediction to what we’re seeing now.
This is solely a reported expectation from the Dolphins, as Ramsey himself has made perfectly clear. Shortly after the news broke from ESPN, Ramsey took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify that.
This isn’t necessarily Ramsey refuting the report, he’s simply clarifying that the news isn’t coming from him, and as far as he’s concerned, the decision is still his to make. He goes on to say that he will only play if he feels “great.” Anything less than that, and Ramsey will continue to sit.
Ramsey’s refusal to commit to a Week 8 return is more in line with the reports from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who claimed that the team is considering waiting until Miami’s bye week to bring Ramsey back. Fowler makes it clear that there’s a road that sees Ramsey back earlier, but the way the Dolphins timed their designation for return, Ramsey would be able to wait until the team’s two-week break to officially come back.
Miami had to drastically shift its plan in the secondary with Ramsey out. Kader Kohou has once again stepped up to start across from Xavien Howard, like he did as an undrafted rookie last year, but both have been banged up lately with Howard sitting out of the team’s loss to the Eagles. Last-second offseason addition Eli Apple has been able to contribute, but second-round rookie Cam Smith has yet to establish a role in the Dolphins secondary. A huge contributor last year, Nik Needham has also been out on the reserve/physically unable to perform list, getting activated from the PUP just yesterday. The addition of Ramsey would be another huge relief to the Miami cornerbacks group.
Essentially, all this to say that things are looking increasingly optimistic for the Dolphins and Ramsey. He’ll almost certainly make his return by the conclusion of the team’s bye week, but it sounds like the team is confident that they may see him suit up this weekend against Miami’s division rival.
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