MIAMI -- Jalen Ramsey had multiple dates circled for his return from the torn left meniscus he suffered on July 27, including Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.
The Miami Dolphins cornerback was anxious to make his season debut, so he made a few estimates, with Oct. 29 being the earliest. All he knew was that he'd beat the initial late-December timeline he was given.
"Before the surgery, I said I was going to be back before December," he said. "December was never going to happen. November was super, super realistic. That was the plan for a while.
"But as I started to feel good, I was begging them -- usually you don't get MRIs every month -- I was begging them to get an MRI every month, just because I felt so great. ... We got MRIs every month and we saw how it was healing, and we just kind of started progressing from there and accelerated a little bit. I don't know exactly when I circled this game, but whenever it was, we got to it after that."
.@jalenramsey's gotta make it up to coach with a pick-6 next game. 😂
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2023
(via @MiamiDolphins) pic.twitter.com/j2UbsrQv1C
Ramsey made his Dolphins debut in Sunday's 31-17 win over the Patriots, recording an interception and a forced fumble in his first live action since Jan. 8. As they prepare to face the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany, this coming Sunday (9:30 a.m., ET, NFL Network), the Dolphins will need Ramsey to help elevate their defense.
Prior to Sunday's game, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel suggested Ramsey wouldn't play if he wasn't 100%. They didn't want to rush him back and risk the possibility of not having him late in the season.
But Ramsey blew past the snap count Miami envisioned to ease him back into action, playing all but four of the team's 51 defensive snaps. He was targeted just three times, allowing one catch for 25 yards as the nearest defender, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
The Dolphins played without former All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard, who they hope will fill out the NFL's best tandem at the position. They'll have to wait at least another week, but the early returns on Ramsey were exactly what they hoped for when they traded a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams for him in March.
"He did phenomenal," McDaniel said. "You want to talk about something that goes above and beyond, like you can't manufacture what he brought to our team in any other way. Not just his play, but the commitment it took to play in that game, everybody witnessed firsthand. You want to talk about not wanting to let someone down as a teammate, that was a special thing to be a part of, to watch his journey.
"Unwavering conviction from the moment he got hurt with that mindset, telling his teammates, 'Hey, just hold it down, I'm going to come back, and I'm going to beat whatever timetable by a month.' That's immediately what his mindset was."
Ramsey was guarding wide receiver Tyreek Hill during a team drill toward the end of the second training camp practice when he said his left knee "kind of popped." He remained on the ground before limping to the sideline and was eventually carted back to the locker room.
He underwent a full meniscus repair the following day, with reports of his return varying from six to eight weeks to three to four months. Ramsey said he was initially given a late-December return date but immediately credited Dolphins team doctor John Uribe for his ability to beat that timeline.
"The stories will probably be like 'Jalen Ramsey came back,' and 'Jalen Ramsey beat these timelines,' and did all of that, but honestly, none of this would have been possible without Dr. Uribe fixing my knee," he said. "They might have to do a case study on whatever he did to help it heal so quickly. The training staff, they did an amazing job. I had good days. I had bad days and everything in between. And the training staff, they never babied me.
"They pushed me. They were super smart with me, even when I didn't want to be smart. Weight room staff, everybody, they really built in my mind like a perfect plan, and we just stuck to it. I just had to listen to them. That's it."
Ramsey joins a Dolphins defense that ranks middle-of-the-pack against the pass, allowing the 15th-fewest passing yards per game (221.5). The Dolphins also rank 24th in turnovers forced with eight in as many games -- four interceptions and four fumbles recovered.
Ramsey, a former All-Pro, nearly contributed in both categories.
On the first play of the second quarter, he put his helmet on the ball and forced it out of running back Ezekiel Elliott's grip. It bounced out of bounds, but the play was negated by a holding penalty on New England. Shortly after the two-minute warning, Ramsey baited quarterback Mac Jones into a poor throw, intercepted the pass and returned it 49 yards.
The performance was a taste of what Miami's defense expects with him on the field.
"It's very encouraging starting to get into our wind, starting to get into our flow, starting to understand what (defensive coordinator) Vic (Fangio) expects from us," linebacker Bradley Chubb said. "He's starting to see -- putting us in the best position, seeing what we can and cannot do as players and as a team. I feel like that gel is starting to come together, and once we get all the pieces back that we need, the sky's the limit for us."
Ramsey and the Dolphins get the Chiefs' third-ranked passing offense -- which should be motivated after an upset 24-9 loss to the Denver Broncos.
But he welcomes the challenge.
Prior to the Patriots game, Ramsey posted a hype video detailing his rehabilitation from knee surgery and included a snippet of a sports media pundit suggesting he wouldn't be the same player upon his return. Ramsey said his motivation isn't necessarily about proving people wrong -- it's about proving people who believe in him right.
"Like before the game I was just telling everybody, 'Yo, I'm going to be as advertised today, to y'all,'" Ramsey said. "Like Mike, I'm going to prove you right, like [GM] Chris [Grier], I'm going to prove you right today.
"Today is going to be one of those days for me where -- that's really what it was about. It wasn't about proving somebody wrong, but I did that, too, huh."