LA Rams re-signing CB Jalen Ramsey has epic importance

Bull-market favors defensive players

The market for elite cornerbacks is on the rise. While none are among the highest-paid non-NFL players yet, you can look for Jalen Ramsey to push hard to break into that group. Or at least push hard to do so. After all, from the moment the LA Rams traded two first-round picks, with the second payable from the 2021 NFL Draft, the leverage leaned in Ramsey’s direction. That means this deal is far more important to the Rams than it is to Ramsey.

Can it be done? Perhaps, but it will take a lot of maneuvering. And the LA Rams must decide who is most critical for the team to win a Super Bowl. The sentiment of Ramsey resetting the market price for a top cornerback is growing into a consensus. And the Rams are not exactly tight with their purse strings if the team believes in the player.

A mistimed moment for an epic contract

The LA Rams are not the only team on the hook at a mistimed moment.

So the Rams are up against it right now. The real fact that the salary cap is shrinking and the Rams have already tapped out the purse strings by overcommitting financially in the past. The Rams have $36 million of dead cap space this year and a salary cap that is likely shrinking by over $42 million in 2021.