After the bitter end to the 2022 season that ended in missing the postseason, almost everything has to be on the table for the Los Angeles Rams who are in win-now mode for the foreseeable future.
The Rams built their roster around a core of stars they hope to compete with for the next couple of years. That core features Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford, stars on both sides of the field that any team in the NFL would be lucky to have.
Also in that group is Jalen Ramsey whom Los Angeles signed to a massive five-year, $105 million extension back in 2020 that made him the highest-paid cornerback at the time. The deal made Ramsey the first defensive back to sign a contract over $100 million and his $71.2 million guaranteed at signing was also the largest guarantee for a defensive back.
While it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Rams would run it back with this core of stars, Ramsey’s future seems to be in doubt as the team has been non-committal about his future. However, Ramsey took to his Twitter account to debunk any rumors that he could get cut from the roster:
100% chance I WONT get cut 😂… God bless tho https://t.co/QBxFbEktrJ
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) February 17, 2023
Waiving Ramsey makes no sense for L.A. as they would be on the hook for $24.6 million for the 2023 season. The Rams have eaten dead money on deals before, but parting ways with Ramsey would not be advisable financially.
However, the star defensive back did stir up the rumor mill some more when he left open the possibility that he could be traded, though he later deleted the tweet. If Los Angeles is intent on moving on from Ramsey, a trade would be the best path for that as there wouldn’t be a shortage of interest for his services.
Despite a relatively down year for Ramsey, he’s still widely considered to be one of the –if not the best– defensive backs in the league. He remains one of the most versatile players in a secondary, able to shadow an opposing team’s primary receiving weapon or play closer to the line of scrimmage where he can make an impact in the run game.
Trading away Ramsey would alleviate the Rams’ bloated cap sheet, but they must decide if that’s worth letting go of someone of his caliber. It’ll be interesting to see how the situation plays out in the coming months.
