The tantalizing prospect of adding Jalen Ramsey to the Cleveland Browns defense

In a season of players maneuvering their way away from teams, Jacksonville Jaguars corner Jalen Ramsey appears to be the next contestant. Ramsey requested a trade and as the Jaguars are trying to set their salary cap for the next few years, they are looking into meeting his demands and the Cleveland Browns are a potential suitor for his services.

Jadeveon Clowney got his way out of Houston. Minkah Fitzpatrick asked and was granted a trade from the Miami Dolphins. Now, Jalen Ramsey looks to be getting traded by the Jacksonville Jaguars after their Thursday Night Game against the Tennessee Titans per his request. One of the teams that has been linked to Ramsey has been none other than the Cleveland Browns.

Whether there's actual interest from the Browns is unclear, but the bottom line is as tempting as adding Ramsey to this secondary might be, it's the shortest of short term plays to go all in and win right now.

There's no doubt that Ramsey is one of the best corners in the NFL and the investment to get him is worth the talent. Adding an elite corner can transform a secondary and a defense. And whichever team does get him will immediately be better for it.

The first problem for the Browns is the cost to get him. It would require their first round pick and much more. Minkah Fitzpatrick fetched a first round pick and he's a largely unproven player. Ramsey is one of the top corners in the entire league and he won't turn 25 until United Nations Day. For any uncultured swine not familiar with this truly significant holiday, it's October 24th. Short of injury, it's reasonable to expect Ramsey to play at a really high level until he's around 29 or 30.

The draft assets that would be paid out to add Ramsey, as good as he is, then can't be used to address the Browns biggest need, which is offensive tackle. A first round tackle in the bottom half of the first round is on a tremendous contract for four years and would be one of the best contracts on the team if they can deliver what the Browns need at that position. That's not even figuring into whatever extra a team is throwing in beyond the first round pick to get Ramsey.

The second problem is that he's about to come due for a contract. That's a big reason why the Jaguars are willing to deal him. He has a $13.7M fifth year team option for next season and then is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The Jaguars are opting to go in a different direction with their salary cap, which started with extending Myles Jack and likely concludes with extending Yannick Ngakoue. Ramsey is going to get paid a massive contract, which his play warrants.

The Browns have some cap room, but they have to decide what they are doing with pending free agents J.C. Tretter, Damarious Randall, Joe Schobert, Rashard Higgins and Greg Robinson. If they were to add Ramsey, that would potentially eliminate the possibility of signing up to two of those players.

That would also likely mean they wouldn't plan on extending Denzel Ward when his contract comes due. He and Baker Mayfield come due at the same time and assuming they extend Myles Garrett, Ward would be the next man up on defense. Ramsey would make that incredibly difficult to do.

It would also largely invalidate the selection of Greedy Williams, who has played well two games into his career. Williams is a boundary corner. He's not really built to play in the slot in terms of his agility. Williams does his best work when he can run down the field with a receiver and use the sideline as an extra defender. For the the rest of this season, it would make Williams essentially the fourth corner as T.J. Carrie is their primary slot.

In the future, that would require Ward to slide inside and play the slot. Theoretically possible, but not likely on a full time basis. The Browns seem content with their plan for Ward and Williams to be their longterm boundary corners for the next few seasons at least. Ramsey's tremendous, but entirely a luxury at this point.

If the Browns were better at tackle and they were potentially making an all in push to win the Super Bowl, Ramsey would be an interesting discussion. As a team that's still building as it's trying to compete, it would make the corner group the best in the NFL, but at the cost of too many others to make it reasonable to pursue. Another team will get a tremendous talent in Ramsey, but it won't be the Browns.