For the first time since 2018, Jalen Ramsey did not miss a single game, playing all 17 for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. While it wasn’t his best campaign — his first non-Pro Bowl season since his rookie year — his availability was never in question.
This is despite the fact that he played the entirety of the season with a sprained AC joint. Towards the end of the 2021 season, Ramsey suffered an AC joint sprain in both of his shoulders, surgically repairing the left shoulder during the offseason.
However, he opted to rehab the right shoulder instead of undergoing surgery. Now, with the 2022 season in the rear-view mirror, Ramsey is reversing course and getting the right shoulder repaired via operation. Ramsey gave a brief comment on the decision as well, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic:
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey said he could play many more weeks and feel OK but that he will need to get a second shoulder surgery to repair the other AC joint he injured in 2021. Ramsey had surgery on his left shoulder over the summer to repair the same issue and now will opt for a procedure on the other side after trying to heal it nonsurgically.
“To me, that’s nothing major,” he said. “It is what it is. Going to get right, and we’ll go from there.”
Given that the left shoulder surgery did not affect his availability in any way for 2022, it’s unlikely that he would miss any time due to this surgery. With the Rams failing to make the playoffs, Ramsey has eight full months to recover, as the 2023 season is slated to begin on Sep. 5.
Despite playing on an injured shoulder and having what many would consider a down season, Ramsey still managed to play 17 games, tying his career high of four interceptions and two forced fumbles, landing a new career high of 88 combined tackles, two sacks, and a non-record of four tackles for loss.
He was not selected to the Pro Bowl and likely won’t be on an All-Pro team for the first time since his rookie year, but he remains one of football’s elite cornerbacks.
Sean McVay opens up about uncertain future with Rams
The most important news story surrounding the Rams at the beginning of the offseason is the future of head coach Sean McVay. The 36-year old savant is not in any danger of being fired, but he may choose to take a hiatus from coaching altogether, effectively forcing the Rams to re-evaluate every part of the franchise.
He opened up about his difficult decision — one he has nowhere near finalized — following the team’s season finale against the Seattle Seahawks.
