Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks due to a meniscus injury that will require surgery on his left knee, NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported Thursday. Ramsey was injured in Miami's practice earlier in the day.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on Friday confirmed that Ramsey injured his meniscus and will undergo knee surgery at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.
"The length of this rehabilitation is kind of dictated on a couple of things that could occur in the surgery," McDaniel explained to reporters. "The exact timeline is a little to be determined. What I can tell you is I don't think the beginning of the regular season is really a part of the scenario. It's going to be into the season and how deep that is depends kind of on what happens today."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport previously reported on Thursday night it's likely Ramsey will require a full meniscus repair, which would put his return date all the way back to December. Ultimately, doctors will determine how severe the injury is, and therefore what course of action they must take to fix it. If the ligament can just be trimmed, Ramsey could be back as soon as six weeks, setting him up to return just around the Dolphins' season opener versus the Chargers on Sept. 10 -- though McDaniel expressed his doubt that Ramsey would be available Week 1 even under an optimistic timeline.
If doctors determine they need to remove the meniscus, that would increase the cornerback's recovery timeline, Pelissero and Garafolo reported on Thursday.
Ramsey released a statement on social media, writing that he'd "be back on that field stronger than ever... in due time" and that "I know my brothers gone hold it down until I'm back tho!"
However, Ramsey followed soon after with another tweet that appeared to lean to a longer recovery time.
The injury appeared to occur near the end of practice when Ramsey forced an incomplete pass and grabbed his knee after the play, Wolfe reported Thursday morning. Though Ramsey initially tried to stay on the field, he eventually exited to be looked at by trainers and later was carted off.
This will mark Ramsey's second meniscus surgery, having previously undergone a procedure on his right knee in 2016 as a rookie. In that instance, Ramsey was able to return around six weeks post-op, and will be hoping for a similar outcome this time around.
If Ramsey were to miss time in the regular season, the Dolphins would be playing without one of their most significant offseason additions, having traded with the Rams to acquire him in March. The six-time Pro Bowler was expected to become half of a dynamic duo alongside CB Xavien Howard, with the aim of bolstering a secondary that also includes Jevon Holland and Brandon Jones.
In line to see time opposite Howard as Ramsey recovers are CB Kader Kohou, who started 13 games in his rookie season, and 2023 second-round pick Cam Smith out of South Carolina, with three preseason games available for both to work with the starters.
"I feel good about the entire crew," McDaniel said on Friday. "We are dealing with some injuries now in that group. But I feel very, very good about the competition there, and the guys that are ready to go see some more opportunities. There's Pro Bowlers and hungry young guys and everything in between. So it'll be outstanding work for us moving forward."
