Jalen Ramsey requested a trade from the Jaguars Monday night, and within seconds, thousands of Twitter GMs were working on trades. Plenty of them involved the Redskins too.
Here’s the problem with Twitter GMs - they aren’t real GMs.
The Redskins won't be involved in the Ramsey sweepstakes, and that's the right move.
Redskins will not be involved in trade talks for Jags CB Jalen Ramsey, per source.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 17, 2019
Do the Redskins have a need at cornerback? Yes. Josh Norman has had a tough start to the season and Quinton Dunbar has already missed a game with a leg injury. Ramsey would come in and help the group right away.
That said, there’s more to the story.
Since Jacksonville emerged as a strong defense in 2017, Ramsey also has emerged as one of the most provocative and outspoken players in the league. It was one thing when he called most of the quarterbacks in the league bad, but things took a turn when he got into a shouting match with his head coach last Sunday. Jags boss Doug Marrone might have been wrong, but yelling at a head coach during a game rarely ends well.
Add in the fact that Ramsey is in the last year of his rookie deal and next year will play under the fifth-year option, and it’s easy to see the star cornerback wanting a new contract. In fact that seems nearly inevitable.
Ramsey has been vocal about teams he would like to land on, and the Redskins never made the list. He shares an agent with Landon Collins but that doesn’t seem likely to alter his prospects.
There’s also the matter of compensation.
If the Jaguars even do trade Ramsey, they will want a lot back. Whether they want to admit it or not, the Redskins are working through a rebuild.
The organization absolutely should not be giving up draft picks at this point, even for a talent like Ramsey. Keep in mind too that Washington already lost their 2020 second round pick as part of the deal to move up and select Montez Sweat near the back end of the first round in 2019. Another thing to remember, with the big money spent to bring in Collins, it seems unlikely the Redskins will net more compensatory draft picks this offseason.
ESPN reported the Jags want at least a first-round pick for Ramsey, and probably more than that. The Redskins can’t pay that cost. Or anywhere close to that frankly.
There was one other scenario.
The Redskins have their own disgruntled player that wants out of town in Trent Williams. Could a Williams for Ramsey swap have worked?
No.
Williams is a star in his own right, but he’s 31 and has dealt with a slew of injuries over the last few seasons. He also wants a new contract with a bunch of guaranteed cash.
The seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle is definitely a desirable piece on the trade market, but Ramsey probably commands more than Williams. The cornerback is only 24.
Williams and a pick could have maybe worked, but again, the Redskins absolutely should not be giving up picks.
Ramsey will get traded. It won't be to the Redskins. Sorry if that’s not much fun on Twitter.
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