Could Ramsey Return Against Patriots this Sunday?

Jalen Ramsey will practice with the Dolphins defense this week, testing out if he'll be cleared for Sunday's game against the Patriots

Jalen Ramsey's audition for a starting spot on the Miami Dolphins defense will take place this week, nearly three months after he had the meniscus in his left knee repaired and a week after he returned to practice with his teammates.

Ramsey, who suffered his knee injury in the first week of training camp, was exclusively used as a scout team cornerback last week, helping Miami’s first-team offense get prepared for the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Ramsey, a six-time Pro Bowl selection, apparently was so impressive covering Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle that he was selected by the coaches as the defensive scout team player of the week.

That showing possibly convinced the Dolphins' medical team and coaches that he’s ready to play in Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.

“It’s crazy. I guess he’s superhuman,” said cornerback Kader Kohou, who likely would be moved inside to the nickel spot full time when Ramsey makes his return. “He looked different. He looked like he’s been practicing the whole year. He doesn’t look like he was coming off of injury … It’s crazy.”

Ramsey has missed the first seven games of the season after undergoing surgery in late July to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He's been diligent about his rehabilitation process, and his commitment to the team, attending every meeting and every game, where he can be spotted on the sidelines coaching up his teammates.

“Jalen Ramsey’s leadership, who he is, just him being out there, his persona, guys respect him for the things that he’s done in the league already and then also you’ve got to respect the way he works day in and day out,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “He’s earned a lot of respect from the guys in the locker room.”

Ramsey, who has started 107 of the 108 games he's played since entering the league in 2016, will have this week’s practices to prove that he's healthy and ready to contribute to the team, which has struggled in the secondary for most of this season without him.

As long as he doesn’t suffer a medical setback and outperforms his fellow cornerbacks — Eli Apple, Justin Bethel and Perry Nickerson have all been called into action because of his absence — Ramsey likely will be on the field against the Patriots.

“[We’ll] start working him into defensive team reps to see how he responds to that and dust off the old cobwebs,” Coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.

The plan is to assess Ramsey’s status, and how he’s feeling every day after the work.

CAUTIOUS APPROACH WITH RAMSEY

The Dolphins likely will be cautious about giving him too much, too soon because that's McDaniel's nature. His focus is on having players healthy in the second half of the season when Miami possibly is pushing for playoff seeding.

McDaniel said he’s never placed a timeline on Ramsey’s rehabilitation process, or when the Dolphins will put him on the field for his first game.

“You don’t want to create a scenario where a player is saying, ‘OK, well I’m going to go play in this game,’ and then all of a sudden something maybe they can feel that we can’t test, now all of a sudden, because of obligation to what they said they start making decisions for the wrong reasons,” McDaniel said. “So you fight tooth and nail not to pinpoint OK, this game, so that you can protect people from themselves, as well as make it about something that it shouldn’t be.

“We’re trying to get him back so that we can have Jalen Ramsey and not some other version that he’s forcing his hand on.”

One of the issues Miami will have is creating a spot on the 53-man roster for Ramsey, who was the Dolphins’ top offseason acquisition this spring.

On Wednesday the Dolphins must take fellow cornerback Nik Needham off the PUP list or he’ll have to stay there the rest of the season, becoming ineligible to play in games in 2023.

So that means the Dolphins must release two players, or place two on injured reserve to get Ramsey and Needham on the 53-man roster.

It's possible Isaiah Wynn, the team's starting left guard, will be placed on injured reserve because McDaniel said Monday the quadriceps injury he suffered in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles will sideline him for weeks. Players placed on injured reserve must sit out at least four games, and the Dolphins have a bye week coming up after the Nov. 5 game against Kansas City.

Ramsey's return could help the Dolphins defense tighten the screws on a leaky secondary, which was forced to play without Xavien Howard last week because of a groin strain he's nursing. 

Opposing quarterbacks have a 100.3 passer rating against Miami, which ranks seventh-worst in the NFL. Only the Denver Broncos (114.2), Los Angeles Chargers (105.6), Arizona Cardinals (102.5), Tennessee Titans (101.0), Buffalo Bills (100.7) and Minnesota Vikings (100.4) have a worse rating.