LA Rams: DB Jalen Ramsey felt Julio Jones addition ‘woulda been unstoppable’

Whenever Julio Jones and Jalen Ramsey met on the football field, it was truly a clash of NFL titans. Some believe that elite NFL talent is frustrated when playing against elite competition. But the opposite is more likely.  Whenever one elite player competes against another elite player, a deep sense of mutual respect and admiration forms.

It often takes one elite player to recognize that quality in another player. LA Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey is an elite player. He has successfully competed against the best receivers in the NFL, and he knows who among that group is the best of the best. In his view, Julio Jones is one of the elite receivers remaining in the NFL. And he naturally wanted the LA Rams to add that elite talent to the Rams roster.

The LA Rams failed to land one of the most dangerous receiver threats of the NFL, as the news broke earlier that the Tennessee Titans, not the Rams, had managed to successfully trade for the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver. There were many reasons why that exchange did not make a lot of sense for the Rams, but that is all water under the bridge.

The rest of the story

Of course, Julio Jones assumed the role of a pseudo-GM/recruiter for the LA Rams in this one and took it upon himself to attempt to recruit Julio Jones to the LA Rams two weeks ago. Since this was a trade scenario and not a free agent signing, that effort was a bit limited in the effect it could generate for the eventual trade. After all, the Falcons controlled Jones’ future, and they wanted to get the optimal package from any team interested in trading for  Jones.

It did seem to work, in that the LA Rams became one of two teams reportedly in talks with the Falcons for Jones.  Yes, other teams picked up the phone and called. But the true negotiations for Jones seemed to focus on the Rams and the Tennessee Titans.  It made sense for the Rams to get involved, as the team is all about trading picks for game-changing veterans.  But the Falcons pushed the Rams for more, some hinted that the Falcons wanted more than just picks from the Rams. In fact, the package that the Falcons wanted likely included one of the LA Rams receivers, perhaps even second-year receiver Van Jefferson? That was where the Rams drew the line.

And so, when the Rams backed out of the trade talks for Jones, the Falcons were left with just the Titans’ offer.  But that didn’t end the effort. Even as the Titans and Falcons got close, Julio Jones himself seemed to beg the Rams to reenter the trade talks for his future. The Rams held fast, the Titans got their player, and the Falcons were able to force the Titans to eat all $15.3 million of Julio Jones 2021 salary.  After all the dust settled, the Rams made the right choice. There, that should catch you up to the comings and goings of all the Rams rumors of the past month.

Jalen wanted Julio

But there is one person who is not pleased with the Rams front office right now. You see, GM Jalen Ramsey wanted the Rams to pull the trigger on the Julio Jones trade. After the deal went down, and it was the Titans, not the Rams, who won the rights to Julio Jones, Jalen Ramsey shared his frustration on social media.

Of course, if you suspect this is some level of discord between the Rams and Ramsey? Think again. Jalen Ramsey loves his role with the LA Rams, and he made it quite clear instantly that he was merely trying to make the LA Rams more competitive.

So now the question is, was Jalen Ramsey onto something? Are the LA Rams receivers missing a ‘Julio Jones’ factor? After all, the elite defensive back on the Rams defense inadvertently gave a social media vote of no-confidence to the receivers on the Rams roster. Whether he meant to make that statement or not, his fervor over getting Julio Jones can be construed as a necessary missing ingredient.

In the end, this could be the one occasion where the LA Rams’ substantial amount of dead cap space prevented the team from adding Julio Jones. Unlike drinking yourself sober, the Rams cannot spend their way out of salary cap troubles. And that means that the Rams cannot be that team to trade for an unhappy veteran at every opportunity.  This LA Rams roster is already too stratified. The Rams need to invest in other positions, other starters, other tiers.

I love Jalen Ramsey, but we agree to disagree on this one. Sorry, Jalen. To pay you what you are worth, the LA Rams cannot pay Julio Jones what he thinks he is worth.