Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel Gives Best Guess On Jalen Ramsey Return

Injuries unfortunately are commonplace in the NFL, and the Miami Dolphins experienced the worst of that reality in the first week of training camp.

Star cornerback Jalen Ramsey suffered a non-contact injury at the end of Thursday’s practice and was carted off into the locker room. The latter is a normal occurrence in training camp since carting players off is faster than letting them limp the way back. But the injury was still bad as many feared.

An MRI revealed damage to Ramsey’s left meniscus, and he underwent surgery Friday. Reports indicated 28-year-old would miss at least six-to-eight weeks, which means he’ll likely miss both matchups against the New England Patriots. While head coach Mike McDaniel didn’t give an exact timeline, he hinted at a multi-month absence.

“The length of this rehabilitation is kind of dictated on a couple things that could occur in the surgery,” McDaniel told reporters before practice Friday, per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “So the exact timeline is a little too big to be determined. What I can tell you is I don’t think the beginning of the regular season is really part of the scenario. It’s going to be into the season, and how deep that is depends on what happens (Friday).”

Ramsey could either get surgery that brings a short-term recovery or one that requires a longer time to return — a situation similar to Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III.

This is the second time Ramsey suffered a torn meniscus. He suffered a small meniscus tear in his right knee during his rookie season and underwent surgery. This happened in May, so he recovered in time to debut in the season-opener.

Ramsey vowed on social media he would “be back on the field stronger than ever.” But Miami will have to hope its other stars can carry the load until Ramsey makes a full recovery.