Throughout the 2023 NFL regular season, the Miami Dolphins have been plagued by injuries. Players have been recovering from injuries they incurred in 2022 and throughout this year’s training camp. All eyes are beginning to shift to All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey as some of those players start to return, notably offensive tackle Rob Jones, who was activated off the physically unable to perform list last week, and cornerback Nik Needham, who was activated this week. The Dolphins could have the best CB combo in the league if Ramsey and Xavien Howard were paired, according to Miami’s offseason trade for Ramsey.
Early in training camp, Ramsey suffered a knee injury that necessitated meniscus surgery and put him on injured reserve for the beginning of the regular season. Ramsey’s practice window started last week, giving the team 21 days to use him before deciding whether to activate him or keep him on injured reserve for the balance of the season.
The Dolphins don’t seem to think they’ll need 21 days to decide.
According to sources from ESPN, Ramsey might be activated as soon as this week, which would allow him to suit up for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. That move appears very bold, and it would return him six or eight weeks earlier than originally anticipated. However, Ramsey has consistently stated.
When asked on Monday if Ramsey might make a comeback on Sunday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel made a joke, saying, “I mean, if ESPN reported it.”
“I just always find it interesting when I get that,” he concluded. With ESPN’s story, no judgment is rendered. I believe Jalen had a fantastic practice week because he was named the defense squad’s scout team player of the week and wore a camo shirt on Friday. We’re not in the business of giving out crystal balls, especially now that men are returning from injuries, so we’ll take things day by day to avoid getting ahead of ourselves. He can’t help himself, so he will let me know when he’s ready to leave.
Asking about Ramsey’s physical condition and whether McDaniel meant the cornerback was good to go but simply needed time to get in football shape, the coach said, “Yes, there haven’t been any setbacks or any concerns.” All you really have to do is go through a process, and you don’t try to rush things so we don’t have to. You don’t want to pointlessly force an issue simply to get him on the field as soon as possible because of the amazing job he’s done to get to this point. You’re right, but you have to act in the player’s and the team’s best interests. Nothing has arisen that warrants concern.
It’s one thing to practice with the scout squad, but Ramsey seems prepared to transition to the main defense, assuming his place in the starting lineup and taking on his job with the base unit. Ramsey is anticipated to begin participating in the team’s 11-on-11 drills on Wednesday during practice, per several media reports, and could then continue to build up to a comeback either this week or soon.
Regarding Miami’s strategy to insert Ramsey into the base defense this week, McDaniel said, “Yeah, I would see that as a natural progression to start garnering reps and that will be part of the process.” We made an effort to keep him away from that throughout the first week. The objective for this week is that we would start working him into defensive team repetitions as of today, Monday, which is very different from Wednesday, to see how he responds to that and clear out any old cobwebs.
The objective, according to McDaniel, is to bring Ramsey back when he can resume playing like the All-Pro cornerback he is, not to have him back by a certain date. He said, “We’re not getting him back to play a certain game.” “We’re getting him back to playing football the way he knows how to play football. We’re doing what’s right for him as a player and for the club. That’s sort of why it’s extremely practical and intentional, because you don’t want to be pursuing the wrong things. I mean, I get upset when I have to speak in grayness more than you people get annoyed listening to it. Our goal is to.
The Dolphins will activate Ramsey as soon as he can demonstrate that he is prepared to perform at his regular capacity. Ramsey reaching that level seems to be happening sooner than anyone anticipated, to be honest.
