Why Trading for Jalen Ramsey Wouldn’t Make Sense for the Raiders

Raiders fans have seen this story before. An all-pro defensive player unhappy with their rookie contract and looking to get paid. Instead of it being Khalil Mack, it’s all-pro cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars Jalen Ramsey. Apparently, Ramsey isn’t too keen on playing under his rookie contract for much longer. According to ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco, Ramsey said:

“Like I said, I’m going to let my agent and the front office handle that, but after what came out here, what was it five weeks ago or however many weeks ago it was, yeah I’m feeling like yeah, if y’all serious about that [a potential trade] not being real, then y’all need to make it happen. If not, then maybe what came out five weeks ago will happen. We’ll see.”

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Based on a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter last year, the Jaguars are not opposed to trading the star defensive back. Ramsey is a top cornerback in the league, no doubt, but he didn’t play up to same level last year as he did in 2017. The Jaguars, as a whole, took a huge step back last season so that might be a reason that Ramsey didn’t play up to his full potential. Given the right circumstances, he can return to all-pro form. With rumors being that he may be on the trade block, speculation as to where he may go has started to heat up. In a recent piece by Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon, he named the Raiders as a potential destination for Ramsey.

While adding a talent like Ramsey to the defensive backfield couldn’t hurt, it also wouldn’t make much sense considering what happened with Khalil Mack just a year ago. Ramsey is great, but Khalil Mack is on another level. He’s easily one of the top three defenders in the league and plays a premium position. He also played a position that the Raiders needed more help at in 2018 than they need at cornerback in 2019. Also, the addition of Ramsey comes with the drama and headaches he’ll bring. Ramsey doesn’t like to keep his mouth shut.

You know who else doesn’t like to keep his mouth shut? New Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown. The Brown acquisition has gone smoothly so far, but adding a hot head like Ramsey puts the team at serious risk of unnecessary drama during the season. Plus, Ramsey is going to want a fat contract. He’s going to want to get paid Josh Norman money and the Raiders have already proved that they don’t want to shell out that kind of money for a defensive player. If Jon Gruden pays Ramsey, but he wouldn’t pay Mack, it’s going to look really bad if Mack wins another defensive MVP trophy and Ramsey plays like he did in 2018. Yes, Ramsey would demand less money because defensive backs don’t get paid like pass rushers, but the optics of it don’t make sense.

Let’s not forget that Raiders also have a very young secondary that’s littered with potential stars. Expectations are high for former first-round pick Gareon Conley. The Raiders also took cornerback Trayvon Mullen in the second round of this year’s draft and he never gave up a touchdown during his time in college. The Raiders defensive backfield is unproven, but it has the potential to be really good while also being really cheap. The addition of Ramsey would give the Raiders a ridiculously talented secondary, but the cost isn’t worth what he would bring to the team.

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