Jacksonville Jaguars DB Jalen Ramsey requests a trade: Why the Browns should pass

Coming off the heels of the Miami Dolphins trading away their young defensive ace Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, now Jalen Ramsey, the embattled spitfire cornerback of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has asked Jaguars management also for a trade according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen.

Ramsey was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. He has often self-proclaimed himself as the league’s best cornerback, and in games is usually matched up with the opponent’s best receiver.

But according to Ramsey’s agent, David Mulugheta, the star player wants out of Jacksonville to a team that hopefully will contend for the playoffs.

There is speculation that a trade for Ramsey may indeed happen this week, but should the Browns become one of those suitors?

The short answer is no. Ramsey has made the Pro Bowl twice in his brief career and is a dominating cornerback with some tackling abilities. But he is also very mouthy and to be frank, haven’t the Browns covered that department this year with several players? As a fan, do you really want to add another bigmouth to this roster?

Another reason the Browns should pass is the state of the defensive backfield currently. Rasmey plays left cornerback. Cleveland already has a Pro Bowler at left corner in Denzel Ward. At the other corner position is Greedy Williams, who is a good player and yes is a rookie but has had two solid games while he is learning the professional game.

Behind them is T.J. Carrie and Terrance Mitchell who are both good slot and nickel corners. With DC Steve Wilks’ habit of playing a 4-2-5 for most of each game, a fifth corner with skills is important with good backups to come in. All four of the current defensive backs play quite a bit as it is.

The Jaguars have reportedly asked for a minimum of a first-round pick plus several additional lower level picks for Ramsey if a suitable trade partner is found.

Ramsey, while an excellent player, is a malcontent with a “me first” personality. His relationship with Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone is tense and not healthy. Sunday, Ramsey had an outburst on the sidelines of the Jags 13-12 loss to the Houston Texans where the scene became a shouting match between the two caught on camera by the CBS team.

After the game, Marrone did attempt to downplay the incident:

“Those things, they happen all the time. They really do. I think now they’re a little bit more publicized, but ever since I played, there’s always stuff that goes on during the course of the game. I know when I was a line coach they didn’t see a lot of them, though, because no one was really in on them. But those things occur, and it’s a high-intensity profession. There’s a lot of emotion that goes on. We knew it was going to be a tough game, going to be on the road. We wanted to match that intensity with the Texans coming off that tough loss that they had, and we were all jacked up.”

Ramsey has had team issues since his rookie season of 2016 in which he lobbied for the entire defensive coaching staff be terminated. In addition to a trade, Ramsey has also stated he wants a new contract that more reflects his athletic abilities in lines with the new contract that running back Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys recently received even though there were years remaining on the original agreement.

There is little doubt Ramsey would become a valued member of any NFL franchise, but not the Browns. The drama department is already full.