Jalen Ramsey Gets Mega-Deal, Adding Another Layer to Trade From Jaguars

For the next several years, there is no real way of discussing All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey and his place atop of the Los Angeles Rams' roster without also mentioning the blockbuster trade that sent him there to begin with.

On Wednesday, the Rams made Ramsey the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history when they signed him to a five-year contract extension that ESPN's Adam Schefter said is worth $105 million with over $70 million in guarantees. This comes years after the Jaguars once made Ramsey the highest-drafted defensive back in team history by selecting him No. 5 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Jalen Ramsey becomes the first defensive back in NFL history to sign a deal worth $100M+ and his $71.2M at signing is the largest guarantee to a defensive back. The Rams get their playmaker on the backend and Ramsey gets his pay day. https://t.co/HRzzqot7De
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 9, 2020

But with Ramsey now finally getting the mega-deal that he was always expected to eventually earn, it creates another layer to the trade that sent the All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback to Los Angeles for a haul of draft picks.

Ramsey's first three seasons in Jacksonville saw him become the face of the franchise as he developed into one of the NFL's top cornerbacks. From 2016-2018, Ramsey started all 48 regular season games and three postseason games, recording nine interceptions, 44 pass deflections and a forced fumble in the process.

Simply put, Ramsey was the best player the Jaguars had on the team in over a decade, and likely even before that. He was a transcendent talent who was among the best in the entire league, and his dominance on the outside helped propel the Jaguars to a 10-6 record and an AFC Championship appearance.

But things went wayward in 2019, with Ramsey requesting a trade from the team after just the second game of the season. Ramsey and the Jaguars would go through a messy divorce all the way up until October, at which point Ramsey was finally traded to the Rams for first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and a third-round pick in 2021.

So, what does Ramsey's new contract say about the Jaguars and their decision to move on from him in favor of a haul of draft picks? Quite a few things.

For one, it shows the Ramsey situation was never once about talent. Ramsey is the best player Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell has drafted since he began to lead Jacksonville's front office in 2013. That didn't change despite Ramsey burning his bridges in Jacksonville (and vice versa), and Ramsey getting the most lucrative contract of any defensive back in league history is further proof of such.

Because of this, the contract shows just what the Jaguars were giving up when they traded Ramsey away. It was the most significant trade in franchise history when it took place 11 months ago, but it is even more glaringly obvious now how big of a deal it was. This wasn't the Jaguars trading A.J. Bouye or Nick Foles -- it was them trading away arguably the best cornerback of a generation.

But Ramsey's deal also shows how important it was to the Jaguars to hold onto Ramsey until the right value came along. If Ramsey is talented enough to earn the largest contract player of anybody who has ever played his position, then that means it would logically mean the player's trade value is the same king's ransom the Jaguars were asking for when they traded Ramsey.

We have seen the Jaguars trade some of their top players for questionable value in the past, but this is not the case with Ramsey. If he is good enough to be a $100 million cornerback then the trade value the Jaguars placed on him was appropriate, even if many thought the team should have given into Ramsey's request to be traded even sooner.

Ultimately, the Ramsey trade won't be able to be accurately graded for a few years. The Jaguars have, so far, used just one of the three picks they obtained for Ramsey, which they used to select defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson with the No. 20 overall pick in April. But a full rebuild is on in Jacksonville, and the Ramsey trade helped both accelerate and define the current situation the Jaguars are in.

As for the Rams, it was pertinent for them to sign Ramsey to a long-term deal after they gave up so much to obtain him. It remains to be seen how locking Ramsey up for the next several years will pay off, but it is clear he is in Los Angeles to stay.

If Ramsey had left Los Angeles any time in the next season or so, then the trade would have looked like a catastrophe from the Rams' perspective and a fleecing by the Jaguars. Instead, the Rams and Jaguars will now have to wait and see the situation play out even further before they know if the deal was truly worth it for each side.

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