Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey trade: Los Angeles Rams send two first round pics to Jacksonville Jaguars for star cornerback in blockbuster NFL trade

By Paul Higham

17:11 · WED October 16, 2019

The Los Angeles Rams have made a bold move to get back to the Super Bowl as they traded two first round draft picks for Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Ramsey, one of the best players at his position in the league, has been wanting out of Jacksonville for some time and has not been suiting up for the Jags.

The Rams have had a stuttering start to the season as they look to go one better than last year’s unsuccessful appearance in the Super Bowl, where they were beaten by Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.

Sean McVay’s side have a 3-3 record after suffering three straight defeats, but hope to bounce back to form as they play the 1-5 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday before heading off to London to play the currently winless Cincinnati Bengals at Wembley.

Los Angeles had seen starting cornerback Aqui Talib put on injured reserves with a rib injury on Monday, before trading away Pro Bowl corner Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens.

That move paved the way for 25-year-old Ramsey to make the move to California, ending his stand-off with the Jags, where he’d become a team leader and one of their top stars – but had made it clear he wanted to leave.

A shouting match with head coach Doug Marrone during a game didn’t help matters, and despite not wanting to lose one of their stars, the situation and the reward offers by the Rams meant it was the right deal for Jacksonville to make.

"Given the situation with Jalen, we made this decision based on what we thought is in the best interest of the Jacksonville Jaguars, for this season and well into the future," said Jags chief Tom Coughlin.

"We feel the trade that we struck with the Rams gives us great value for the next two drafts, and we remain very confident that our team today will compete this season for a division title.

“Jalen was a productive player, but the time came to move on and we wish him and his family the best in Los Angeles."

Ramsey is in the penultimate year of his rookie contract, set to earn him $13.7m this season, and both he and the Rams are reportedly in no hurry to discuss a new contract.

That now makes it three of Jacksonville’s first-round draft picks are all playing for the LA Rams, with Ramsey joining quarterback Blake Bortles and linebacker Dante Fowler.

It’s a high price the Rams have paid to try and sure up their secondary though, with another two first round draft picks going out of the window.

The last time the Rams had any first-round involvement in the draft was when selecting quarterback Jared Goff in 2016, and due to various trades they don’t have one now until 2022.

That means that the Rams are hoping that success comes quickly and they can build on last season’s NFC title, but after their recent run they need to turn things around quickly for that to happen.

They aren’t even the best team in their division currently with the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers and 5-1 Seattle Seahawks well ahead at this point.

Jalen Ramsey trade: Los Angeles Rams send two first round pics to Jacksonville Jaguars for star cornerback in blockbuster NFL trade

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