Five straight losses have taken their toll on the Jaguars’ star cornerback.
Jalen Ramsey isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
That was a lot of fun for the Jacksonville Jaguars when the young, brash cornerback was bullying opposing receivers and leading a secondary that was the centerpiece of a championship-level team. But now the Jaguars have lost five straight and Ramsey’s attitude has been turned around on the team itself.
A day after the Jaguars blew multiple coverages to give up 29 points to the Colts before halftime, Ramsey vented on Twitter:
When I’m gone from here, y’all gone miss me. I ain’t even trippin lol
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) November 12, 2018
It was enough to get a lengthy response from Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone during his Monday press conference:
Here are Doug Marrone's full comments on Jalen Ramsey's social media posts. #Jaguarspic.twitter.com/r9UpB9bQJD
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) November 12, 2018
The tl;dr version of Marrone’s answer is essentially: “buckle up and deal with the criticism because we’re all stuck with this 3-6 record.”
Why is Ramsey mad?
The Jaguars are losing. That’s definitely the most significant reason for his frustration.
A couple years ago — when the Jaguars were one of the worst teams in the NFL — all the losing brought Ramsey to tears at one point. He was shown on the sideline looking upset and telling someone “I’m tired of losing.”
That drive to win helped the Jaguars turn things around and find a culture of winning in 2017, but Ramsey’s back in a frustrated place now that Jacksonville is in last place again.
On top of that, the Jaguars pass defense looked like a mess Sunday. Andrew Luck tore it apart with 21 completions on 29 attempts for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Receivers were running wide open and one analyst, former Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli, claimed Ramsey decided to do his own thing:
So according to Boselli, Ramsey went rogue and was playing press-man while the rest were playing Zone on a couple of the busted plays.
— Matthew (@RealMBB) November 12, 2018
That’s quite the accusation, but not exactly new. Ramsey is an aggressive cornerback who loves to use his rare combination of size and strength to shut down receivers at the line of scrimmage. The Jaguars’ affinity for zone defense in 2018 has been confusing, and Ramsey’s freestyling may have started before Week 10.
Y’all haven’t picked up on Ramsey “going rogue” in coverage before? Played press man in zone vs. HOU and DAL too.
— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) November 12, 2018
If that’s the case, it’s a big problem for the Jaguars. There’s also the possibility that Ramsey gets asked to play press man, allowing the rest of the secondary to shade their zone defense away from his side. Either way, the Jacksonville defense appeared out of sorts against the Colts.
The Jaguars are still one of the best in the league against the pass, but with the 2018 season circling the drain, that doesn’t matter much. The bigger concern is Ramsey’s future with the franchise.
Is Ramsey on his way out?
The short answer: no.
Ramsey’s rookie contract runs through the 2019 season and the Jaguars can pick up a fifth-year option in 2020. Even if Ramsey wants out of Jacksonville, the Jaguars could use the franchise tag too and keep him for at least another three seasons without letting him reach free agency.
And even if it seems like this is a disastrous season for the Jaguars, the reality is that Ramsey’s still playing well. Quarterbacks have a 73.4 passer rating when throwing his direction — that’s top 20 among starting cornerbacks in a year where the average quarterback has a 94.6 rating.
He also allows a reception once every 13.2 times he’s in coverage — that’s also top 20 this season.
Ramsey is one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL and the Jaguars have seen what kind of difference he can make. There are clearly things to smooth over, but don’t expect him to be traded, cut, or allowed to walk any time soon.