Is LA Rams DB Jalen Ramsey confident a deal will get done? He should be

Is LA Rams DB Jalen Ramsey confident a deal will get done? He should be

The LA Rams‘ ability to extend cornerback Jalen Ramsey is quite the focus of national media right now. If Rams general manager Les Snead, head coach Sean McVay, or cornerback Jalen Ramsey is in front of a microphone in front of national media, you can bet that one of the first questions to be asked will focus upon the Rams extending Ramsey’s contract. It’s a given. After all, the Rams traded for Ramsey to solve their secondary turnstile for the future.

No doubt some, if not all, LA Rams fans are interested in getting a status update on that contract situation.  It’s one of the most important deals for the Rams this year, and perhaps for the foreseeable future. The Rams know it. And cornerback Jalen Ramsey knows it too.

Will it come up on HBO Hard Knocks: LA at some point? Perhaps. But to be honest, Ramsey appears unconcerned about the matter. That’s not from a lack of concern, nor from disbelief. That comes from his confidence that the extension will get done.

So what needs to happen to make it all go down?

Prerequisites for Ramsey deal

The LA Rams have some work to do to get Ramsey’s likely salary demands through the current 2021 salary cap bottleneck.  Ramsey is currently hitting the Rams’ salary cap for $13.7 million this year and is likely looking for an average of $19 million per year. We discussed in great detail the factors leading up to and currently contributing to the Rams-Ramsey deal, and the most important piece is navigating the salary cap.

The Rams are likely waiting for their 53-man roster to settle in. Should a veteran be cut, that would likely free up money to add to the pool available for Ramsey.  Should the Rams fall short of funds, a good place to look is renegotiating the contract of quarterback Jared Goff, whose current contract was based on a significantly increased salary cap.  With the cap in full retreat in 2021, the two sides should be able to free up about $10 million or so, perhaps pushing that amount out for another year.

In the meantime, Jalen Ramsey is doing what a football player does when he is in for the long haul. He is rumored to be house hunting and is focused on playing football. After all, that’s how it should be.