Philly Front Office

Rumor has it that the Eagles are interested in Jalen Ramsey to replace Darius Slay at CB2. Is this a real rumor of interest or is it simply that the Eagles lost Slay and are easy clickbait? Either way, let’s get into the numbers.

Ramsey signed an extension with the Dolphins right before last season and, as they are wont to do, quickly had extender’s remorse. His 3/$72m extension doesn’t kick in until after this coming season. To simply cut Ramsey, it would cost the team $49m in dead cap. Fins Up!!!

This isn’t the NBA though, and Ramsey’s $19m signing bonus makes the numbers for an acquiring team much easier to stomach. Let’s take a look. This season, he only has a minimal salary. Much of his Dolphins’ cap hit is from previous bonuses (including a $4m roster bonus that has already been paid) and previous restructures. However, he does have a guaranteed $19m option bonus included in his compensation this season and that doesn’t get paid out until week 1. THAT’S why they want to trade him right now. What does that mean?

That $19m gets split over the next 7 seasons including 3 void years. So along with the minimum salary, he comes to around $4m this season plus performance bonuses. That’s pretty good. We’d take it right? Not so fast. The Eagles would now be on the hook for the rest of that option bonus. Now let’s see the rest of the contract.

The 2026 season comes with an $8m option bonus, a $2m roster bonus (due day 3 of the league year) and a $10m salary. That’s already looking a little tough to swallow. So that $8m bonus gets prorated to the next 6 years. That plus the previous option bonus makes his 2026 cap hit around $17m, but could be restructured even lower. Not terrible.

The 2026 season is not guaranteed though. If they decide to cut Ramsey after 1 season, they would be on the hook for a dead cap of around $16m. This could be split over two seasons in the amount of around $3m and $13m in 2027.

Ramsey was still VERY good last season. Despite playing in his age 30 season, he played all 17 games, had 2 picks, and ranked as the 16th overall CB by PFF. The Dolphins simply want to get younger and shed salary though, that’s why he’s on the block. What would they want for him? When trading with the Rams, they only gave up a 3rd rounder to get him. Would the Eagles be interested in that price? Maybe a 4th?

As long as Miami isn’t asking for too much in compensation (and they won’t be) draft picks will not be a problem. Essentially though, the Eagles would be paying for a one year deal at these rates. I don’t think they would have any interest in paying that $17m in 2026 with about double that in dead money. It is possible that they change his compensation though. He is getting $20m more this season no matter what, he isn’t giving that up. What if he agreed to lower that to like $15m each of the next two seasons with a $10m salary in year 3? Something like a $15m signing bonus with $30m total guarantee with more void years? His salary would be the minimum along with around $3m in option bonus this season, then around $7m cap hit next season, but then around $10m in year 3. After that, it would be a $20m-ish cap hit likely split over 2 seasons.

Having Ramsey at CB2 would be pretty awesome. I don’t know if they really want to add any salary right now though. The theme of the whole off season has been preparing for the mega extensions of Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and then eventually Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell. That $20m cap hit would be coming in right around the time they need the money the most too.

If Ramsey gets traded, and it is pretty obvious he will, it will not be until June or July. The Eagles make sense and they can make it work, but it is not a move they really need to make. It would be a pretty great luxury though. Ramsey is still very good and could help this team. Let’s handicap it at 25/75.