Nov 19, 2023; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) celebrates after his interception against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
By Ben Axelrod on

Jalen Ramsey is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But if the All-Pro cornerback is going to have a future as a newsbreaker, he’s going to have to get better at reporting the full details of the story first.

Taking to X on Monday morning, Ramsey broke the news that the Miami Dolphins were trading him to Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old’s video announcement, however, didn’t include many details other than that he is now a member of the Steelers.

Many more traditional newsbreakers followed suit shortly thereafter, reporting that Ramsey had, in fact, been traded to Pittsburgh. All of the early indications appeared to be that it was a rather traditional trade, with the Steelers sending the Dolphins a draft pick-centric package in exchange for the former Florida State star.

But as football fans and reporters digested what the Ramsey trade meant for Aaron Rodgers’ new team, another shoe to the story dropped. At 10:52 a.m. ET — 16 minutes after he first confirmed the Ramsey trade one minute after the cornerback announced it — ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers were sending the Dolphins Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick as a part of the deal. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirmed the same five minutes later.

Player-for-player trades are relatively rare in the NFL and the addition of Fitzpatrick to the deal only amplified what was already a major story. What’s more is that Schefter then revealed at 10:57 a.m. that Miami was also trading tight end Jonnu Smith to Pittsburgh as a part of the deal, in what marked one of the more unique NFL transactions in recent memory.

Considering the unconventional nature of this trade, perhaps it’s not surprising that the information came out as fragmented as it did. Still, it’s not often that you see major aspects of a deal reported more than 15 minutes apart, especially when the second (and third) players involved change the perception of the transaction so dramatically.

With both Schefter and Rapoport reporting on the trade just one minute after Ramsey’s initial post, it doesn’t seem like either was catchup here. Rather, it appears that the uniqueness of the deal was also reflected in its reporting, which all began with the rare (but not unprecedented) instance of a player involved announcing it himself.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod