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What if Jalen Ramsey were to line up inside SoFi Stadium, but instead take on the Los Angeles Chargers on NFL opening Sunday for the 2022 season on September 11?
Turns out the All-Pro cornerback came close to not joining the Los Angeles Rams. And this was during a time he wanted out of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
‘I Dang Near Begged’
Ramsey’s admission came on the “Behind the Cut” podcast released on Wednesday, September 7.
Turns out it was the Silver and Black he targeted.
“The team that I pushed for the most. I was like ‘Please get me here’ was at the time the Oakland Raiders,” Ramsey said on the podcast. “I dang near begged to go to the Raiders. I begged to go to the Raiders and they sent in an offer. It wasn’t the exact offer that Jacksonville wanted and the Rams came with the exact offer.”
Had that happened, Ramsey would have been a part of the franchise’s final season in Oakland before settling in Las Vegas. A blockbuster trade would’ve also given the Raiders their first All-Pro cornerback since the days of Nnamdi Asomugha and a young Charles Woodson.
The Rams, however, made the aggressive move to lure in Ramsey before the NFL trade deadline — beating out the Raiders.
“They sent in an offer,” Ramsey said of the Raiders. “The Rams, though, it wasn’t the exact offer that the Jaguars wanted [from the Raiders]. The Rams came with the exact offer.”
Ramsey also recalled how the Baltimore Ravens were among the teams in the running for Ramsey — but the Ravens wound up acquiring Marcus Peters via the Rams…ultimately opening the door for Ramsey to come inside the “Rams House.”
But there was another team Ramsey brought up in the fold, which made Ramsey “sick” after watching this team put together a dream-type season.
Was Rams Rival an Option?
Ramsey made one more revealing admission: He could’ve been teammates with Deebo Samuel, Richard Sherman, Nick Bosa, Jimmy Garoppolo and company.
That’s right: The rival San Francisco 49ers were among the other teams Ramsey mentioned in his podcast interview as he traced back to a conversation he had with his agent.
“He was like ‘It’s the Rams. But I’m going to tell you two teams who have put in similar offers that Jacksonville is really considering: The Rams and 49ers,” Ramsey recalled. “I remember telling my agent ‘the Rams are going to do better than the 49ers.’ I’m trying to go to the Rams anyway.”
But then came the part that made Ramsey “sick.”
“Long story short, it ends up happening: I get traded to the Rams the same year the 49ers went to the Super Bowl,” Ramsey said. “I was hot. I was sick.”
But then, Ramsey flashed what’s on his right hand.
“Two years later we got our rings with the Rams,” Ramsey said, while looking at his oversized ring. “It ended up working out.”
Ramsey & Rams Will Aim to Redeem Themselves
Ramsey had a rather forgettable season opener versus the Buffalo Bills.
Not only did Ramsey allow a perfect quarterback rating, but according to Pro Football Focus he surrendered five catches his side for 103 yards and was the nearest coverage defender on two Josh Allen passes in the 31-10 debacle.
Ramsey showed his unfiltered side in a new postgame podcast called “Straight Off the Press” after the Bills game. And right away, Ramsey became a straight shooter.
“We know we’re better than the s*** we put on the field,” Ramsey said. “Like all around: Offense, defense and special teams. We know we can be better than that.”
He also had a message for the outside world writing off the Rams.
“We know how the outside world is: ‘The Rams ain’t going to be what they were.’ Man, f*** all of that.”
More can be watched below.
