What Would Rams Have to Give Up For Jalen Ramsey?

When NFL teams confirm their intentions to trade a specific player, telling the truth usually lands them in the same spot as telling a lie. Neither choice ends well.

Cooper Kupp is the most recent example. Jalen Ramsey could be next. When everyone and their cousin knows a team wants to unload a veteran, they usually wait for the team to cut bait and release the player.

And that’s likely the only way the Rams and Ramsey will consummate a reunion, primarily because three factors are clouding a trade. ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Jeremy Fowler, Ben Solak and Seth Walder explored potential Ramsey trades on Wednesday, analyzing deals that could send the Dolphins’ All-Pro cornerback to the Rams, Panthers or Chargers.

“My feeling is Ramsey gets released rather than traded,” Graziano wrote, suggesting the Rams would need only a 2026 seventh-round choice to get Ramsey from Miami, “but either way, I'd argue the Dolphins aren't going to get a ton for him. The Rams know and like Ramsey. He likes it in Los Angeles, too. So, with this offer, it makes sense for the Rams to flip the pick they got from Baltimore in the Tre'Davious White deal.”

If indeed the Dolphins don’t get a ton for Ramsey, they could be content with such a trade while knowing they’re unloading his massive contract. His guaranteed money this season is spooking potential trade partners, according to Fowler.

Fowler suggested the Rams unload their fifth- and sixth-round picks in next year’s draft, along with cash considerations, to acquire Ramsey from Miami.

“This trade offer does not involve a premium pick in part because of the large sum of guaranteed money attached to Ramsey's contract in 2025,” Fowler explained Wednesday. “That $20.2 million has turned off some interested teams. But the Rams would cover at least $12 million of that in this scenario, helping Miami move on from a disgruntled player.

“A Super Bowl-sized reunion makes sense for Ramsey, as the Rams have a big need on the outside and already know how to best use him.”

What ultimately makes sense for the Rams might not ultimately make sense for the Dolphins. That’s why the ESPN analysts ultimately concluded Ramsey will wind up in Carolina for the Panthers’ fourth-round selection in 2026.

“An additional fourth-round pick from Carolina gives Miami a whopping seven selections in the first four rounds of the 2026 draft, not including any compensatory picks,” wrote Dolphins beat writer Marcel Louis-Jacques. “That's more than enough capital to either stockpile young talent as the team continues to build its financial flexibility or put together a trade package for a difference-maker. Either way, a fourth-round pick is about as good a return as Miami could ask for.”

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