Commentary: Trading Jalen Ramsey is not the right decision

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It is time to remove the emotion and come to the reality that trading Jalen Ramsey is not the right decision.

Think about this objectively. Cornerback is one of the most valuable positions in today's pass-happy NFL and Jalen Ramsey is arguably the best corner in the NFL. 

Ramsey is one of only a handful of players in the league who can line up across from any No. 1 receiver and force the quarterback to go elsewhere with the ball.

Guys like this are valuable and you don't just let them walk away in their prime, not if you want to be a good football team. 

There are a lot of false narratives about Ramsey floating around the internet. Ramsey is not the locker room cancer that many people believe he is. He is well-liked inside the Jaguars locker room by the players and the coaches. The outburst during the Texans game is a complete nonissue. Should it have happened? No, but it happens on the sidelines across the NFL.

Ramsey has made it clear that he wants two things.

He wants to win games

He wants to be the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

Less than 24 hours after making his trade request in a press conference, one of the first things Ramsey said was "I just want to ****** win." 

That's something the Jaguars have not been able to consistently do over the history of the franchise, but Ramsey's desire to win didn't just pop up overnight. 

If he didn't believe this team could be successful, why would Ramsey ask for a contract extension? A contract that if the Jaguars had given him during the offseason would make it very difficult to trade him. 

While the Jaguars opted to not extend Ramsey because he does still have time left on his contract, other teams are already extending their young stars. Ramsey was selected with the fifth pick in the 2016 NFL draft and three of the players selected ahead of him (Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Ezekiel Elliott) have already inked their extensions. 

Even with the request for a new contract being denied, Ramsey made it clear that his issue is with the Jaguars front office. 

Typically, a division between a player and the team's front office you don't expect to see the franchise owner come out and openly say that he is willing to give the player a new contract. 

If that doesn't make you scratch your head and say ‘hmmm,' nothing will. 

The reality is that players like Ramsey don't grow on trees. Front office guys do. What have Tom Coughlin and the Jags front office done recently? 

They've built a team with a lot of talent at the top, and very thin after that. They've gutted the defense that made the run to the AFC championship game. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson and safeties Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church were all released. Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. was traded to the Rams, and cornerback Aaron Colvin left in free agency.

Oh, and don't forget Yannick Ngakoue, who tallied 29.5 sacks in his first three seasons still doesn't have a new contract. 

For those that think Ramsey's personality is the issue, well, consider this.

Ngakoue doesn't have the same outspoken personality as Ramsey, but still voiced his displeasure about how the contract negotiations played out.

Shad Khan may understand that Coughlin won't be around forever, and that if this season goes badly and he has to clean house it will be easier for a new regime to build if they have a superstar corner already on the roster.

Trading Ramsey may be the easy way out of this situation, but the easy way is rarely the best way. Even if Ramsey is moved for a haul of future draft picks that doesn't guarantee that any other them will turn into half the player that Ramsey is. 

If Ramsey was as much of an issue and many people believe that, why would so many teams be willing to call and trade for him? And to take it one step farther, if the Jaguars are serious about trading Ramsey why let him play? If Ramsey goes out and has any sort of injury you lose all of his trade value. 

So, remove all of the emotion of a player saying that he doesn't want to play for the Jaguars and think about it — are the Jaguars better with or without Jalen Ramsey?