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Following the Jacksonville Jaguars’ elimination in the 2018 AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, there was much expectation that they would go on to become a perennial playoff contender. However, this was far from the case, as the Jaguars missed the playoffs in the subsequent season and eventually triggered a rebuilding phase.
The Jaguars parted ways with a bulk of talents from their famed “Sacksonville” defense in the following years. For one, the team traded Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams during the 2019 season for three draft picks.
Ramsey did not necessarily leave the Jaguars on good terms. The Jaguars opted to not sign the cornerback to a contract extension deal in the offseason, and he noted before his departure that he had “issues” with the front office.
Ramsey took some time to speak on “The Pivot Podcast,” where he provided a behind-the-scenes perspective on his exit in Jacksonville. He was not pleased to have not received a hefty payday from the team, and he also saw the writing on the wall regarding where the franchise was heading.
“That was one of the first places that I've ever been in that I don't feel valued, for real,” Ramsey said. “It was weird, and it was frustrating, and it got to a point where, like, it just started piling up, piling up, piling up.
“And we weren't winning. And they didn't want to pay me early. So all of that put together was like … so what I'm what am I here for?”
Overall, Ramsey can look back on his tenure in Jacksonville satisfied that he built formidable relationships with the coaching staff. However, he never saw eye-to-eye with Tom Coughlin, who spent a few years as the team’s vice president of football operations.
“Really, the one person I never really got to have a relationship with at all was Tom Coughlin,” Ramsey said. “And in at the time, he ran all that in Jacksonville. He ran all that. I'm talking about everything every part of everything, he ran all that. … Defensive coaches like, I got love with all the coaches and everybody. It was really just Tom Coughlin. … He didn't care to try to have any relationship. It was just, it was my way or the highway.
“So if you make a player, especially your top players feel like they ain't nothing, like that's not gonna go well for you at all. And that's how that's how the vibe was around there. They're just like, we can get another Jalen. So it got to a point where I was like prove it then. If that is how y'all feel about me if y'all don't value me like that, if that's how y'all feel about me, it's coming from the top, so then it's starting to trickle down.”
Ramsey also noted that his up-and-down relationship with Coughlin tricked down over to now-former Jaguars general manager David Caldwell. The two did not “talk anymore,” as the veteran cornerback added that from there, “it got to the point where it just kept getting worse.”
Ramsey has since gone on to make the most out of his run with the Rams so far, which has included a Super Bowl 56 win. On the other hand, it is safe to say that the Jaguars have not yet acquired “another Jalen.”
