Ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams made a shocking move, trading away star cornerback Jalen Ramsey. In return, the Rams received a third-round pick in the upcoming draft and tight end Hunter Long.

The return was nowhere near what the Rams paid back in 2020 to acquire the NFL’s best cornerback at a time when they gave up multiple first-round picks. That kind of return was always unlikely, but a third-round pick and a depth tight end seemed low at the time.

Although it was a difficult decision, trading Ramsey was a necessary one. After a disastrous 2022 season, it was clear the Rams needed to offload some contracts and bring in younger talent. Ramsey wasn’t old by any means, it ensured the Rams wouldn’t take a major cap hit in the future. After the trade, the Rams took on $19.6 million in dead money, but were able to clear the way for 2024 to spend on free agents like Jonah Jackson and Kam Curl.

What head coach Sean McVay said about Jalen Ramsey this week:

“We have a cool relationship and he knows the respect and admiration I have for him as a player and what he meant to this team. There were a lot of tough decisions ahead of us as a football team and it had nothing to do with the fact that we didn’t want him here. There were a lot of things we had to do as a result of some previous years and things like that. He understood that.”

The Rams would be undergoing an active rebuild. That process included dumping big contracts and bringing in younger talent that the team could build on and build for momentum in 2025 and beyond. Unfortunately, that plan simply did not include Ramsey.

In some of these trades, the draft pick acquired doesn’t even become half of the player they traded for during the move. For example, when the Jacksonville Jaguars traded Ramsey, they ended up with K’Lavon Chaisson, Travis Etienne and Jordan Smith. Etienne was a fine running back at times, but Chaisson was a bust and Smith was nothing in the NFL.

On the Rams side, however, they got a third-round pick, who turned out to be Byron Young. Young has been a solid complementary edge rusher over the past two years. He may not be a star on the perimeter, but he is a good secondary player opposite a star player like Jared Verse. Tight end Hunter Long has been injured for much of the past two years. Still, he has shown some blocking when healthy.

Injuries are difficult to predict and there is no guarantee Ramsey would have been hurt had he stayed with the Rams. Ramsey spent most of his first season with the Dolphins injured by a torn meniscus. Still, he had three interceptions and five passes defensed in 10 games. His three interceptions would have been tied with Witherspoon and Jordan Fuller on defense for the most part. This year, he is Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated cornerback.

Since Ramsey left, the Rams have certainly missed his physicality and presence at cornerback. Last season, the Rams came around with Ahkello Witherspoon and Derion Kendrick on the outside. This season was another “put duct tape on the issue” type of year. Tre White didn’t turn out as hoped, while Darious Williams fared well and Witherspoon was brought back but gave up big plays.

The Rams were never going to replace Jalen Ramsey and what he did for the defense. That said, they didn’t necessarily try to implement the design. The position remains one of their bigger needs heading into the 2025 offseason.

Outside of the trade for Matthew Stafford, acquiring Ramsey is probably the most important move of the F them picks era. With the Rams, Ramsey was a two-time first-team All-Pro selection, including the 2021 Super Bowl season. He also made a Pro Bowl each season with the Rams.

It’s a move that worked for both parties and is a rare win-win trade. The Rams got what they wanted out of it, which was a clean salary cap and a young defensive building block with the draft pick. On the other hand, the Dolphins have a very good cornerback on their defense and Ramsey is still playing at a high level despite losing half a step.

Nearly two years later, the Rams likely do the exact same thing and trade Ramsey to the Dolphins. They needed to enter a new era and unfortunately the Ramsey trade was a reflection of that.