Money, Not Words, May Prevent Eagles From Swinging Trade For Top Defender

He felt disrespected by his coach and put words to the disrespect he felt by what his coach said. “He said I wasn't an elite corner and that I'm not in their category,” the player said about the coach.

That didn’t stop the Eagles from hiring that coach as a senior defensive consultant in 2023, Matt Patricia. How would the player, Darius Slay, feel about Patricia, who would eventually replace Sean Desai in-season as defensive coordinator? It was Patricia who said Slay wasn’t elite when he was the head coach in Detroit when Slay was there.

It turned out fine. the two men made nice. Could a similar dynamic be in play if the Eagles trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who the Miami Dolphins really want to deal with Philly being mentioned as a possible destination?

The situation in some ways is similar to Slay-Patricia, except it’s the player, Ramsey, who took issue with his then-defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio.

Fangio spent a year in South Florida, helping turn the Dolphins’ defense into a top 10 unit in that one season. Ramsey seemed to throw shade Fangio’s way after the Dolphins released fellow cornerback Xavien Howard in February of 2024, just weeks after the Eagles hired Fangio as their DC.

"I won’t ever forgive dude for not utilizing our full skillet," Ramsey posted in a social media farewell to Howard.

There are some who believe Ramsey wasn’t happy with Fangio because he didn’t let him cover the opponents’ No. 1 receiver. Ramsey missed the first seven games of their only season together but returned for the final 10 and had three interceptions.

Ramsey is four years younger than Slay, the cornerback the Eagles let leave to the Steelers during the offseason. He’s also much more expensive than Slay.

He signed a three-year extension worth $72.1 million with the Dolphins just last September and is salary-cap charges are ridiculously high - $16.6 million this year, $25M in 2026, $26.8M in 2027, and $36.1 in 2028 when Ramsey will be 34.

This is where a deal probably falls apart for the Eagles, unless Miami is willing to eat most of the money then it may be too prohibitive. If the Dolphins do eat money, that would probably make the deal sweeter in terms of what they would get back in a trade. The Eagles have draft collateral, with an expected 13 picks in next year’s draft. What Philly doesn’t have is the money to afford anything near that contract with some of their own players coming up for new deals.

Another complication is that the Eagles have a group of young cornerbacks they need to find out about, such as Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks.

It is tantalizing to think about a player like Ramsey, with 24 interceptions in nine NFL seasons, playing opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Still, significant obstacles are in place that could prevent the Eagles from taking a swing at him.