Dolphins to open star CB's practice window

The growing optimism about Jalen Ramsey‘s return timetable will lead to the Dolphins opening his practice window earlier than expected. Initially viewed as potentially needing recovery time into December, the recent trade acquisition will be on track to come back sooner.

The Dolphins are expected to open Ramsey’s 21-day practice window Wednesday, NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe reports. Ramsey practicing today would mean he must come off IR by Nov. 8. The All-Pro cornerback is believed to be far ahead of schedule, and today’s transaction will prove that.

It took only a third-round pick and backup tight end Hunter Long for the Dolphins to acquire Ramsey, who has been one of this NFL period’s premier corners. Ramsey, who will turn 29 next week, seeking a contract adjustment led to the reduced trade compensation. And the Dolphins guaranteeing the eighth-year veteran’s 2024 salary after the trade provided security for Ramsey as he recovers from the meniscus injury he suffered during training camp. He appears close to recovering from the knee setback, which would be a significant development for a Dolphins team that has been one of the NFL’s best through six games.

While Miami’s offense is soaring, Vic Fangio‘s defense sits in the bottom half of the league. But Ramsey represented the other pillar in the Dolphins’ defensive plan this offseason. Paying Fangio more than $4.5M to work as Mike McDaniel‘s right-hand man, the Dolphins formed one of the NFL’s highest-profile CB tandems by obtaining Ramsey to play across from Xavien Howard. But Fangio’s recent run of bad injury luck followed him to South Florida. After seeing Bradley Chubb and Von Miller rarely suit up together in Denver, the acclaimed defensive mind lost Ramsey from his new equation early. That equation is about to change for the better.

Ramsey went down in late July, and while an initial report revealed a six- to eight-week return timetable, he underwent full meniscus repair surgery that moved back the re-emergence date until the season’s second half. Shortly after Dolphins cornerbacks coach Sam Madison said November would be a realistic return window, Ramsey is close to beating even that proclamation. His comeback would strengthen a defense that ranks 20th in points allowed and 26th in yards yielded.

The former Jaguars top-five pick has three first-team All-Pro honors on his resume. No active cornerback matches that, with the first of Patrick Peterson‘s three such achievements coming for return-game work. Requiring two first-round picks as a 2019 trade acquisition, Ramsey played a lead role in helping the Rams to a Super Bowl title. He earned first-team All-Pro acclaim in 2020 and ’21, and while the Rams struggled last season as they lost key personnel to injuries, Pro Football Focus still ranked Ramsey as a top-five corner.

Miami has used Kader Kohou as a regular alongside Howard this season; this is a familiar role for the 2022 UDFA, who stepped in for Byron Jones as he could not recover for the 2022 season. Late-summer addition Eli Apple has cleared the 250-snap barrier, with veteran special-teamer Justin Bethel also seeing a regular role in Fangio’s defense. Second-round pick Cam Smith has not carved out a spot in Fangio’s defense.

The Dolphins’ schedule heats up this week, with the Eagles on tap. After a Week 8 date against the Patriots, the Dolphins head to Germany for a Chiefs tilt. Ramsey returning ahead of that Nov. 5 matchup would obviously strengthen the team’s chances of prevailing in what stands to be a pivotal overseas matchup — perhaps the biggest game the NFL has sent to Europe — for AFC home-field advantage purposes.