Los Angeles Rams: 4 reasons to love Jalen Ramsey trade with Jacksonville Jaguars

The Los Angeles Rams made a big move on Tuesday by agreeing to a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey.

When taking into consideration the Los Angeles Rams appeared to be set at the beginning of the season at cornerback with Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, the last player they were expected to acquire through a trade was Jalen Ramsey.

Turns out, the Rams went from long shots to land Ramsey to being winners in the trade sweepstakes after Los Angeles agreed to a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to bring the Pro Bowl cornerback on board.

All of a sudden, a team that was having a rough week after suffering a third loss in a row this past weekend to the San Francisco 49ers has plenty of reasons to be excited about their new star cornerback in Ramsey coming on board.

Over the last couple of months, there have been plenty of rumors surrounding the possibility of the Jaguars moving on from their former cornerback, and even though the Rams seemed like long shots to land Ramsey, this shows no moves should ever be ruled out for Los Angeles.

Even if there will be some concerns over Ramsey being a headache based off his actions at times in Jacksonville, this is a move that is clearly worth the risk for the Rams from a talent perspective.

Giving up two future first-round picks may seem like a tough pill to swallow, but also Los Angeles has already managed to get by just fine during the Sean McVay era without selections.

Now that it’s official, here are four reasons the Rams and their fans should love this trade to land Ramsey while the team continues to prepare for Week 7.

4. Rams still in “win now” mode

Thanks to their surprise success from McVay’s first season as head coach in 2017, the Rams made it clear last year they were in a “win now” mode to put the team in the best position to win the Super Bowl.

From acquiring Peters from the Kansas City Chiefs to pulling off a surprise trade with the New England Patriots for Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles made it clear in 2018 they were open to any move that seemed capable of helping them hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Despite coming up short the way they did in the Super Bowl, the Rams provided a perfect example of how being aggressive with key moves can pay off in a big way.

Clearly, Los Angeles never would have made this move for Ramsey while giving up two future first-round picks if they didn’t truly believe he could be a difference maker in helping the team win the Super Bowl.

Sitting at 3-3 is obviously the last position Los Angeles expected to be in at this point in the regular season, but with plenty of time remaining, no one should rule them out when it comes to the NFC playoff picture.

If anything, the trade to land Ramsey continues to show the mindset of doing whatever it takes to make a run at the Super Bowl is still in play, even if the price is hefty.

3. Ramsey better option over Peters for long run

With all due respect to Peters since the now former Rams cornerback has put together plenty of impressive performances dating back to the 2018 season, but in comparison to Ramsey, there’s no question who the better option is.

There’s a reason why so many teams expressed interest in Ramsey over the last couple of months since his talent is one of a kind, and can make a huge impact in the passing game for any defense.

If Los Angeles truly believed Peters deserved to be around for the long run, chances are the team would have signed him to an extension a long time ago, especially when seeing how often the Rams were handing out new deals to key players.

Prior to the start of the 2019 season, one of the biggest questions surrounding the team was whether Peters would earn an extension before the end of the year, or if the Rams would let him walk in free agency.

After all the debating and questioning, never in a million years could fans ever have imagined that trading Peters would end up being the option, but at least no one seems to be upset about it since it helped land Ramsey.

2. Rams were desperate for cornerback help

Before the Ramsey trade became official on Tuesday, there was speculation earlier in the day over Los Angeles possibly making a bigger move later on, mainly because the Peters trade didn’t make much sense at the time.

After Talib was placed on IR Monday due to a rib injury, Peters would easily be the top cornerback on the team moving forward, but after the news broke that he would be heading to Baltimore, it was difficult to feel confident over the new situation.

All due respect to other players like Troy Hill who seemed ready to step up, and prove they were capable of handling the new responsibilities, it was clear the Rams were still in need of major help at the cornerback position.

Now that Ramsey is officially coming on board, this puts Los Angeles in much better position at cornerback, and this will be even more exciting to witness once Talib is healthy enough to return in a few months from now.

There’s a reason why Ramsey is arguably considered to be the top cornerback in the league, and for a team that has been hurting big time in recent weeks when it comes to passing defense, this latest addition should work wonders.

1. Ramsey under contract through 2020 season

Most likely, the Rams agreed to a trade with the Jaguars, and seemed more willing to give up two future first-round picks with the hope that Ramsey would end up sticking around for the long run.

But since Ramsey has yet to suit up for a single game in Los Angeles, and there’s no reason to jump too far ahead down the road, the good news for the Rams in the meantime is the cornerback will at least be around through the 2020 season, no matter what.

Thanks to Jacksonville previously making the easy decision to exercise the fifth-year option on Ramsey’s rookie contract, the Rams will have the upper hand in the contract situation, although if they worked out a new deal sooner rather than later, no one would be surprised one bit.

A team like Los Angeles doesn’t invest in a player like Ramsey through such a big trade if the hope isn’t there to make sure they end up being around for the long run, and help the Rams be strong Super Bowl contenders for years to come.

The $13.7 million base salary for Ramsey in 2020 may seem like a bit much when looking at some of the other hefty contracts already on the roster, but also if it helps the Rams achieve the ultimate goal, it will be worth every single penny.