Jalen Ramsey really wanted to play for the Miami Dolphins; “I’m not going anywhere but there.”

In an interesting piece for Sports Illustrated from Albert Breer released earlier this morning, Breer recounts how the trade between the Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey was conceived and then consummated.

According to Breer, it was Rams’ head coach Sean McVay who approached Ramsey in January with the idea that they would try to trade the 28 year-old this offseason due to cap space concerns as well as lack of draft picks for the franchise. Ramsey was comfortable in Los Angeles and saw himself “retiring a Ram.” However, Ramsey understood the business side of things, and accepted the reality that he would no longer be playing for the Rams moving forward.

So, who did he want to play for?

“He, of course, wanted to go to a place where he could win, and where he’d fit football-wise... He had friends in Miami, like [Jevon] Holland, [Xavien] Howard, Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis...”

When his agent, David Mulugheta, asked where the six-time Pro Bowl talent would like to play, his answer was abundantly clear.

“I’m not going anywhere but [Miami]. So make sure that’s where I end up.”

According to Breer, Rams’ general manager, Les Snead, had already been in discussions with Dolphins’ general manager, Chris Grier, about a Ramsey trade between the two clubs. Despite other teams offering more than what Snead asked for from Miami — the 77th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and reserve tight end Hunter Long — the Rams wanted to do right by Ramsey while fully knowing that he would not “sign off” on a deal to any other team.

Grier talked it through with Dolphins’ owner, Stephen Ross, salary cap guru Brandon Shore, and head coach Mike McDaniel, before calling Snead and asking for permission to speak with Mulugheta.

“For the Dolphins, and the Dolphins only, Ramsey agreed that he wouldn’t need much of a raise — and any other team that got involved would have to blow him away contractually to move him off the position that he’d go to only Miami.”

Soon after, the deal was done and Ramsey had gotten his wish. He was headed to sunny South Florida to become a member of the Miami Dolphins.

To read the entire article from Albert Breer, click here.