The Steelers & Dolphins Just Pulled Off A BLOCKBUSTER Trade, Out Of Nowhere...

AtoZ Sports

Kyle Crabbs talks about the blockbuster trade that happened on Monday morning, where the Miami Dolphins sent superstar CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers, in exchange for S Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Transcript

00:00I certainly hope you weren't planning on having a relaxing start to your week.

00:03The Dolphins and Steelers just wound up and cast a massive curveball at the NFL.

00:11I'm Kyle Krabs with A to Z Sports, and it's been a long time coming for

00:14Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey to find himself on a new team. It was reported as early

00:20as mid-April that the Dolphins and Ramsey had mutually agreed to part ways after some level

00:25of a falling out between both Ramsey and head coach Mike McDaniel, and it doesn't take a rocket

00:30scientist to review any time Mike McDaniel's been asked about Jalen Ramsey to see that there's

00:35probably some hard feelings somewhere along the way. Ramsey got his wish on Monday with the news

00:41that he had been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but what happened next was absolute pandemonium.

00:48First, the news dropping that Ramsey was going to Pittsburgh, then the news dropping that Minka

00:52Fitzpatrick, former disgruntled Miami Dolphins defensive back who was once upon a time traded

00:57to Pittsburgh, was the player coming back to Miami in a player-for-player swap, and then the news

01:03being dropped on top of that that tight end Jonu Smith, who the Steelers had placed several calls

01:07on in the last couple of months, was also a part of this deal. A three-player trade on June 30th

01:14to mark the start of the NBA free agency calendar, the NFL just with that latest little twist of the

01:21knife to remind you that it's always football season. Now, as far as the fallout of this trade,

01:26the full terms of this trade have been released. The Dolphins are sending Jalen Ramsey, Jonu Smith,

01:32and a 2027 7th round draft choice to Pittsburgh for Minka Fitzpatrick and a 2027 5th round draft

01:38choice. For Pittsburgh, why you do this deal is obvious. They have been looking for another pass

01:43catcher that was why they were rumored to have first reached out to the Dolphins on Jonu Smith in

01:48the first place. Of course, Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator is Arthur Smith, who has spent a lot

01:53of time working with Jonu Smith and loves to find ways to get him to football. And Jalen Ramsey coming

01:58in as a splash player with the Steelers in the midst of an arms race in the AFC North. Baltimore

02:04is Baltimore. And of course, they just added Jair Alexander not that long ago. But Pittsburgh

02:09finally got Aaron Rodgers locked in, now brings in a tight end to go with. DK Metcalf came over in a

02:15trade this offseason. And now Jalen Ramsey on the defensive side of the football to pair with

02:19Darius Slay to give two wily veterans that have a lot of ball production in the Pittsburgh secondary.

02:25For the Dolphins, it's a little bit more complicated why you do this deal. But I still

02:29think it makes sense when you look at the big picture of what the Dolphins have tried to do

02:33this offseason. A lot of their moves have been about giving themselves a chance to compete in 2025,

02:38but also resetting the deck for their team lifecycle outlook to be well positioned for the start and

02:46ramp up of the next competitive window. The Dolphins, based off their moves, made it abundantly

02:51clear they felt they were capped as a football team in their most recent build. And the ambition

02:56that it takes is ambitious and it is admirable, but it's also risky for general manager Chris Greer

03:03and head coach Mike McDaniel on the heels of an eight and nine football season where there is

03:08perceived pressure to win. The Dolphins need to win enough football games for McDaniel and Greer to

03:12inspire confidence in owner Steven Ross that they're the right people to run this organization

03:17into the future and into the next build. But getting rid of the cash commitments involved with

03:23Jalen Ramsey, who the Dolphins just gave a contract to last offseason, and also Johnny Smith, who gets an

03:28$8 million raise from the $4 million he was scheduled to play on in 2025, tells you the Dolphins cap and

03:35cash savvy savings. Also getting a player back in Minka Fitzpatrick, who is younger, who gives them a

03:41chance to still compete in 2025, but without a lot of the long-term restrictions that this team found

03:48themselves in with Jalen Ramsey. All in all, it's going to be fascinating to see how this deal plays

03:53out for all the parties involved. But in the midst of the summer dead period, we're thankful at the very

03:58least for a little bit of exciting times to start June 30th.

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