Dolphins
The Dolphins made headlines this week when putting CB Jalen Ramsey on the trade block. Miami GM Chris Grier made it clear Ramsey did not request to be traded from Miami, and they felt it was the best course of action after talking to his agent.
“I will say, these decisions aren’t done quickly and they’re not taken lightly because we’ve spent a lot of time this offseason working through this, talking through things,” Grier said, via the team’s YouTube. “At the end of the day, Jalen did not ask for a trade. So, we went through the process and just felt that after numerous conversations and then talking last week with Jalen and his agent, that it was best to move forward. And [it’s the] best interest of the Miami Dolphins and for Jalen Ramsey.”
Grier reiterated they have “many conversations” on how to proceed with Ramsey.
“I think when you’re talking through the offseason and all these conversations are happening through the offseason, you’re still working and you try to prepare for scenarios,” Grier said. “So, again, this was a long discussion — many discussions, I would say — throughout the offseason. This wasn’t anything we rushed to and just said today, let’s do this. So, we’re prepared if he’s here, we’ll deal with it. And if he’s not, we’ll adjust as well. So, we feel good about where it is.”
In the end, Grier thinks trading Ramsey will give Miami its best chance to win in 2025.
“It’s never easy to replace a player like Jalen. He was a good player for us. He’s a good player. He’ll probably be a Hall of Famer here. But for the Miami Dolphins going forward, we feel like this is the best chance to help us win — not only just this year but in the future as well.”
Patriots
New England has the No. 4 overall pick in the upcoming draft, with many thinking they could opt to take an offensive lineman with their first pick. Patriots HC Mike Vrabel believes there are multiple starting-caliber tackles in the draft, despite some thinking the top options are best-suited to kick inside to guard.
“I think there’s some starting tackles that certainly will come in and start in the NFL,” Vrabel said, via the team’s website. “I think that that’s really what you start to look for, impact players. When you start picking that high, what they’re going to do for you, what’s the impact, what’s the position, you talk about premium positions. That’s where you weigh all the circumstances and end up making that pick. Do I think that there are starters in this draft that left tackle? Yes, I do.”
Patriots
Heading into the draft, the Patriots have some needs on both sides of the ball with a top-five selection. New England HC Mike Vrabel talked about trying to balance taking a player at a position of need and the best player available.
“Well, we’d love for them to align, having a need and having the best player be there,” Vrabel said, via the team’s website. “That doesn’t always happen, and we certainly want to pick the best player as many times as we can and the player that we think at that point is the best player. Then we’ll figure it out. Maybe you look at one position and we may have some returning starters or we feel like are starters, or there’s depth at that position, but to add premium players when available is something that you should probably always try to do.”
Vrabel discussed what he learned from his draft experiences with Tennessee, where they took some players who fell due to injuries.
“We took a couple guys with injuries that we thought were talented. Maybe what injuries as they fell, and that value got to the point where we were comfortable taking it. I think that’s something that’s critical. What’s the ability for players to recover from one injury versus another injury I think is something that I learned. The impact that player makes and demands on a quote-unquote ‘first round pick,’ I think is something that’s just like the quarterback. You don’t have to be the face of the franchise, but everybody’s going to be talking about the first-round pick from the time that we pick them for as long as they’re here. So, that kind of gets carried with them, and I think you have to have the attitude and the demeanor to handle some of that.”
The post AFC Notes: Jalen Ramsey, Mike Vrabel, Patriots’ Draft Plans, Dolphins appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.