The Miami Dolphins made a splash earlier this year by trading for Jalen Ramsey. He was expected to shore up the team’s defense, but an offseason surgery has put his Dolphins debut on hold.
While the procedure was apparently the best long-term option, it did have a drawback in that the cornerback was projected to be out until around December.
It seems that Miami won’t have to wait that long to see Ramsey make an appearance on the football field, as he is reportedly “ahead of schedule” and could be ready by November.
Dolphins’ CB Jalen Ramsey, who underwent knee surgery in July, is ahead of schedule in his comeback and is pushing to play sometime next month, per league sources. “He’s tracking well and wants to come back sooner rather than later,” one source said. The team still doesn’t know…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 15, 2023
Six-time Pro Bowl CB Jalen Ramsey is far ahead of schedule in his recovery from knee surgery and could return to practice with the #Dolphins as soon as this week, per sources.
They’ll ramp him up gradually. But Ramsey is on track for an early return. pic.twitter.com/MGs37sGKKv
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 15, 2023
The three-time first-team All-Pro selection appears to be a man of his word, as he told Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel that he would beat his recovery timeline by a month. In addition, cornerbacks coach Sam Madison also gave an optimistic update about the star recently, saying that he could return in November based on conversations with trainers.
So, it looks likely that Ramsey will finally wear a Dolphins uniform in a month’s time.
Miami has done well without the 28-year-old so far, winning four of its first five games to take the top spot in the AFC East. However, the squad has relied much more on its offense to take the lead.
Its defense continues to be a problem, as illustrated by the number of points it has given up through the first five weeks. The Dolphins may be first in the league with 36.2 points per game, but they rank 26th in allowing 27.0 points per contest.
That weakness was evident in their Week 4 bout against the Buffalo Bills. In that match, Miami let the Bills score 48 points and finish with 414 yards of offense. It also allowed Josh Allen to throw four touchdown passes and run for another. Having Ramsey on defense should help prevent another opponent from racking up the points and yards like Buffalo did.
Hopefully, the six-time Pro Bowler does not take long to get up to speed. The Dolphins will certainly need his defensive acumen and championship pedigree if they want to do better than their early playoff exit last season.
