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The Miami Dolphins took a big hit when their top cornerback went down with a knee injury during practice.
Jalen Ramsey tore his left meniscus July 27 while battling with Tyreek Hill on a passing route and will have surgery on July 28 to repair the knee, according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe and Ian Rapoport.
Tom Pelissero reported that doctors will determine whether to remove the meniscus or repair it, which would be a much longer recovery.
“Big question will be whether Ramsey can get his meniscus trimmed (shorter recovery) or if he needs a full repair (longer recovery). The trim would likely have him back in 1st quarter of the season. The full repair — longer,” Wolfe tweeted.
Per Rapoport, “No firm determination will be made until surgery, the likely outcome is a full meniscus repair, bringing Ramsey back in December if all goes well. The best and healthiest option.”
Ramsey tweeted out that the end of the year will be big: “That end of the season push gon be legendary!”
Ramsey also put out a message on social media saying that he’ll come back stronger than ever.
In May 2016, as a rookie with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ramsey had surgery on his right meniscus in his right knee and was ready to go by training camp.
Who Replaces Jalen Ramsey?
In the offseason, Miami traded a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long for Ramsey, who was coming off his sixth Pro Bowl season.
The plan was to pair Ramsey with All-Pro cornerback Xavier Howard to help improve a defense that gave up 23.5 points per game last season.
Miami will now lean on cornerback Kader Kohou, who played well in his rookie season, intercepting one pass and knocking down 10 of them last year as an undrafted free agent. He also added 72 tackles to his resume along with five tackles for a loss in 15 games.
Other players who will have to step up for the Dolphins is their second-round pick Cam Smith and veteran cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.
Last season, Miami’s secondary ranked 27th in passing yards allowed per game (234.8) and ranked 26th in passing touchdowns allowed. The Dolphins also finished the 2022 season with just eight interceptions which was the third-worst in the NFL.
Free Agents Miami Could Sign
With Miami having just over $13 million in cap space, per overthecap.com, the Dolphins could go find a plug-and-play corner for Vic Fangio’s defense.
Ronald Darby: Released by the Denver Broncos in the offseason as a salary dump, Darby was also recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 5 of the 2022 season.
Darby, 29, spent one season under Fangio while he was the head coach of the Broncos. Appearing in 11 games for Fangio, Darby knocked down six passes and had 53 tackles while playing opposite of Patrick Surtain ll.
Eli Apple: If Miami wanted to go younger, they could target Apple on a cheap contract. The former 10th overall pick spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals where he played in 31 games over the past two years and has knocked down a combined 18 passes.
Apple also has playoff experience that could come in handy for the Dolphins after he helped lead the Bengals to the 2022 Super Bowl.
Bradley Roby: Another option for the Dolphins could be a former Super Bowl champion who played with one of the best defenses in NFL history — the 2015 Broncos.
Roby has played with three different teams in his career, but the 31-year-old still has some gas left in the tank for a cheaper contract. The former first-round pick can play inside and outside and that could help Miami’s defensive schemes.
Appearing in 10 games last season for the New Orleans Saints, Roby knocked down five passes and had 36 tackles.
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