Subscribe
Follow Us
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey has requested a trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ramsey is a 24-year-old with a first-team All-Pro and two Pro Bowl nods to his name is capable of shutting down the NFL's best. Ramsey and the Jaguars should have no trouble finding suitors.
All NFL teams should be interested in Ramsey. He's in his fourth year and considered a game-changer already. However, which teams would make the most sense in a trade to acquire Ramsey? Considering Jacksonville wants a first, at minimum, count out the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears.
Ramsey also wants a contract extension, but he has two years left on his rookie deal. If any team trades for him, it would need to work that out immediately and plan its future arrangements.
Let's count out all of the Jaguars' AFC South foes, too. Sorry, Indianapolis and Tennessee, Tom Coughlin isn't trading his best player to a rival. Interestingly enough, Ramsey hinted at wanting to go to Houston or Tennessee in the past.
Oakland Raiders
When asked in August about an ideal place to play on the “‘Bussin With the Boys” podcast, Ramsey noted Tennessee (his home state) or Las Vegas.
“Yeah, Vegas. I like Vegas. They ain’t got no state income tax. I mean here don’t either, but Vegas you got everything there,” said Ramsey.
There isn't a team residing in Las Vegas in 2019, but there is one in 2020 when the Raiders leave The Bay for Sin City. The Raiders also need a cornerback; while Gareon Conley, Trayvon Mullen, and Isaiah Johnson are intriguing youngsters, none compare to Ramsey.
The Raiders have money to spend in the future, need Ramsey, have two first-round picks in 2020, and want to win now instead of building over several years. A trade for Ramsey makes too much sense.
Sticking in the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs desperately need help at cornerback. Though the team made a point of upgrading the pass defense — which allowed 273.9 yards per game in 2018 — it hasn't paid off to start the 2019 season. In two games, against Nick Foles, Garnder Minshew and Derek Carr, the Chiefs are averaged 262.5 passing yards per game.
To Kansas City's credit, the team added back-end talent in Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill, switched to a more favorable 4-3, and added a high-end pass-rusher in Frank Clark. Yet, the defense isn't quite there yet. Adding Ramsey would shore up the Chiefs' defense, and would make them that much more of a Super Bowl contender.
However, Kansas City would have to do some cap gymnastics to afford him down the road with Patrick Mahomes' contract coming up. Nonetheless, if the Chiefs want to win now, adding Ramsey is their best option.
If Sunday night's performance indicated anything (other than the fact that Philadelphia is very injured), it's that the Eagles need some secondary help. For the second straight week, they gave up over 300 passing yards.
Through two games, against Case Keenum and Matt Ryan, the Eagles have given up 800 passing yards and six touchdowns to three interceptions. Their schedule gives few indicators that the bleeding will stop; they will face high-end quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson — down the line.
Philadelphia is in Super Bowl mode. Is a cornerback group of Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas enough to support safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod down the line? Perhaps not. Insert Ramsey into that group, and they have a far better chance at surviving the gauntlet of passers they'll play in 2019.
Similar to the Chiefs, if the Eagles trade for Ramsey they'd have to do cap gymnastics down the line. Luckily for their head honcho, Howie Roseman, that's second nature.
