MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Not only does Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey have a chance to make his Dolphins debut next month, he could be back on the practice field as soon as this week — assuming the latest update from NFL Network is accurate.
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When Will Miami Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey Return to Action?
This week has been nothing but good injury news for Ramsey, who has been sidelined since damaging his meniscus the first week of training camp.
But nothing Dolphins coaches said this week was as optimistic as the NFL Network report, which stated that Ramsey is “far ahead” of his initial recovery timeline and that Ramsey could return to practice in just a matter of days.
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
Ramsey returning to practice this week would open his three-week window return. That move would make strategic sense for Miami, which has three more games after Sunday before its bye.
That would give Ramsey an entire month to ramp up ahead of a possible return on Nov. 19 — nearly four months to the day after his injury.
It also would track with comments coming out of Dolphins camp this week from Mike McDaniel and position coach Sam Madison.
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Asked on Thursday if Ramsey might get in a game next month, Madison replied:
“Yeah. Speaking with the trainers a lot, the weight room guys. He looks really good. He’s been really good for the young guys, coming out there, encouraging them, telling them what he sees on film. That’s very, very encouraging, especially having a veteran of that stature and having him in the room, still being into it.
” … Very hopeful, Looking forward to getting him on the field. Been watching this guy for a very long time and finally had him in training camp. But when he’s ready and they say he’s a go, he’s definitely going to help us.”
Madison later suggested that the bigger concern of the coaching staff is Ramsey trying to do too much, too soon — not whether he’ll return at all in 2023.
“Hopefully, when he comes back, it’s just going to be, ‘What can he take?'” Madison said. “You never want to put a guy out there and then injure something else. You want to take your time with him. But everybody in here has dealt with him and understands his mentality.
“His mentality is if they have 80 plays, he’s going to want to play 80 plays. Just making sure that his conditioning is there so we don’t have any setbacks. Just listen to the trainers. Mike’s talking about him. He’s been doing really good, So hopefully whenever the time comes he knocks on that door, we’re going to open it up and let him go.”
Madison’s comments came three days after McDaniel told reporters that Ramsey is “doing a great job. He’s a special breed. And he is on the positive side of return for sure.”
With Ramsey out this week, the Dolphins could get a look at Cam Smith — who is active.