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Ramsey, Hill Send Strong Messages on Social Media

The All-Pro cornerback had a strong response to a former NFL team doctor's comments about his injured knee

Alain Poupart

Ramsey, Hill Send Strong Messages on Social Media
Ramsey, Hill Send Strong Messages on Social Media /
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Miami Dolphins stars Tyreek Hill and Jalen Ramsey made some headlines Tuesday, but this time off the field.

Hill hasn't been shy about expressing his opinions on social media and he certainly did that when he came to the defense of his former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator.Eric Bieniemy.

For Ramsey, it was much more personal.

RAMSEY'S STRONG RESPONSE

Ramsey made it clear on social media he wasn't happy with an assessment from former NFL team physician David J. Chao, on X as Pro Football Doc, who said that even though he had not examined Ramsey, he was concerned with the All-Pro cornerback's ability to be the same player after his return.

“I think it’s a tall order for Jalen Ramsey to come back and be Jalen Ramsey," Chao said on the I Am Athlete Podcast.

"I unfortunately don’t make a lot out of seeing him walk without a brace. First of all, if you go by the book, and I’ve seen the Twitter stuff where people say, ‘Oh, it’s great news, he’s walking.’ Yes, it’s still non-weight-bearing crutches and a brace. But if you talk to any seasoned pro sports team doctor, that is advanced to weight-bearing as tolerated in certain range of motions, so that doesn’t necessarily speed up the timeline.

“It’s easier to return as a wide receiver than it is a DB because you’re dictating your routes. A DB has to react to the routes. It’s still hard for a wide receiver to come back from an ACL, but much harder for a DB to do so, because of what they have to do. I’m not overly optimistic, unfortunately, on Jalen Ramsey.”

Ramsey replied to the clip about an hour later.

Chao later responded to Ramsey's response with an apology "if warranted" and an offer to join him on a podcast to discuss the situation.

Here's the thing for Ramsey, though, this wasn't the first time there will be commentary or speculation on his timetable and/or recovery because of the nature of his injury, which required surgery to repair.

There is one person with whom we know Ramsey will not have to be concerned when it comes to that, and that's head coach Mike McDaniel, who rightfully always has been very cautious about making predictions when it comes to injured players.

We saw that again when he spoke about Ramsey being at practice without crutches, mixing in his usual quips in the process.

“There’s been a slew of crutches thievery in Miami Gardens," McDaniel said. "Again, it’s a beautiful balance because I love where Jalen is at. He is attacking everything. I love that I can depend on our training staff to know that leaves someone vulnerable to over-exerting at this stage. So that balance has been doing excellent right now. In terms of ahead, I think if I say ‘ahead of schedule’ to our head trainer, he might open-hand slap me because he doesn’t believe in that. He believes in he’s doing well at this juncture, but you have to go through steps and plateaus. He was already resisting the crutches when he had the crutches. I pointed out to him that his triceps could use the work, but he didn’t agree.

"His spirits are great and it speaks to him. Like how many other guys do you see with a timetable such as his having ownership of the team and his guys more than Jalen Ramsey? I think it speaks to the type of individual, the type of leader that we have on the team and the fact that you guys have a visual aid of his recovery and that he’s not on crutches speaks to who he is and what this team and this locker room is about.”

Based on reports at the time of the surgery, Ramsey is expected to be sidelined until December. The Dolphins' first game that month — Dec. 3 at Washington — will be the team's 12th game of the season.

HILL STICKS UP FOR BIENIEMY

Hill, meanwhile, took to social media Tuesday to offer his support for Eric Bieniemy, who's in his first year with the aforementioned Commanders after serving as an assistant for Kansas City.

Hill's response came after head coach Ron Rivera publicly revealed that some of the offensive players found Bieniemy's coaching methods a bit "harsh."

Whatever his coaching methods, Bieniemy certainly helped Hill achieve a lot of success during his time with the Chiefs, though Hill had a lot to do with that himself as he evidenced last year with a memorable first season with the Dolphins.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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