Jalen Ramsey pushes back on report that Rams are ‘very likely’ to trade him

With the salary cap crisis and a potential recovery ahead of them, the LA Rams appear to be ready to walk away from Jalen Ramsey.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Rams were in trade talks for their All-Pro quarterback and would “very likely” trade him in the next few weeks as a move to lift the salary cap.

The trade would end his three-and-a-half seasons in Los Angeles, in which Ramsey earned four Pro Bowl nominations, two All-Pro first-team selections and a Super Bowl ring.

The Rams acquired and retained Ramsey for big money in 2019, first sending two first-round draft picks and a fourth-round player in a trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then giving him a record five-year, $105 million contract extension for less than in a year. .

It was the latter move that reportedly caused the Rams to drop Ramsey. The team is currently over the salary cap by $14.9 million. for a capthough that figure will drop by about $5 million after Bobby Wagner, who agreed to leave the Rams on Thursday, will be officially deregistered.

Under Ramsey’s current contract, he will receive $25.2 million this season, $26.7 million in 2024 and $22.7 million in 2025. reportedly free up about $5.6 million in the cap this year when dead money is included.

It may come as a surprise to some that the Rams would choose Ramsey for the trade, but the underlying math makes enough sense. However, Ramsey himself questioned the report shortly after it hit social media:

It’s been an eventful off-season on Ramsey’s Twitter feed even before Friday’s report, as often the online athlete repeatedly posted denials and cryptic messages while fans and brands debated his future with the Rams.

None of this is pleasant for the Rams, who have been known to ignore the future in order to collect a stellar core in the present. This strategy paid off with their Super Bowl LVI victory, but now we see the bill coming to pay.

Trading Ramsey and freeing Wagner together won’t free up enough space to be capped, so there’s likely to be even more moves soon.