Jalen Ramsey trade: Reactions, grades, fallout from deal

JACKSONVILLE, FLA – The Jalen Ramsey drama is over.  

On Tuesday, the Jaguars finally shipped their star cornerback to the Los Angeles Rams for three draft picks, including first-round selections in 2020 and '21.

So, what has been the reaction around the league and around town? As expected, social media lit up with the Ramsey news. But let's hit a few angles of the Ramsey story while we're here. 

The Haul

First off, take the emotional side out of this. 

How'd the Jaguars make out in the trade with the Rams, last year's Super Bowl runner-up? 
Well, they've got four first-round picks over the next two drafts — their own and the Rams. 

If the season ended today, the Rams' 2020 first-rounder, which was part of this trade, would be pick No. 17. Los Angeles has lost three straight games, but you can't count on that trend continuing.

Realistically, this pick will likely wind up in the 20- to 24-range. 

The other first-rounder is in 2021 and the final pick a fourth-rounder in 2021. Jacksonville is stacking picks and that's a good thing. There's almost nothing more valuable in NFL currency than a first-round pick. Unless, that is, a franchise-type player. Was Ramsey, attitude and all, that type of player? Many have said he's a generational talent at his position. 

The Grades

Two thus far have come out in the hours since Ramsey was dealt.

CBS Sports gave the Jaguars an A. 

ESPN gave the Jaguars a C+.

The Reactions

Well, as expected, it has been intense. Incendiary. Filled with memes and many, many posts involving words that won't be repeated here. 

A fanbase that probably had Ramsey's back, or at least understood his viewpoints early, was having none of it as the saga dragged on. With every game and practice that Ramsey missed, I think support waned. Tuesday, it exploded with one epic social media post after another. 

The consensus that I've seen on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram has been definitely anti-Jalen. Fans feel like Ramsey quit on the Jaguars. Even former Jaguars players were not disappointed to see Ramsey heading west.  

One Jaguars fan may hope to forget Jalen's time with the Jaguars, but that could be, well, quite difficult without a few trips to the tattoo parlor or the constant wearing of long sleeves. 

Share your thoughts and tell us what you think:

How'd we get here?

Probably more of a combination of things than one actual event. 

Ramsey wanted to be paid and paid well. He arrived at training camp in a Brinks truck with a hype man touting him. Ramsey spoke openly in training camp about his desire for a new contract and said he felt that he had outperformed his rookie deal, which runs through 2020 after the team picked up his fifth-year option.  

That was Ramsey laying the foundation for a new contract. 

When the team didn't budge (sure, Ramsey had outplayed that contract, but the Jaguars had no reason to pay him yet) that drew a line in the sand. An 0-2 start, which included a sideline blowup with Doug Marrone and the now-infamous "disrespect" run-in with executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin after that game lit the fuse. 

Had Ramsey been rewarded with a contract extension in training camp, I don't think we'd be here right now. It's much easier to roll with the punches at a job or overlook potential negatives when there's incentive to do so. And extra zeroes in the bank account is plenty of reason to do so. 

So, Ramsey felt underpaid and probably unappreciated. Being disciplined or talked down to after the Texans game was it. 

The situation had been festering since Ramsey and his agent, David Mulugheta, went public with the request for a trade from the Jaguars.  

Jacksonville initially balked at the request. But the more this dragged on, the more unlikely that Ramsey and the Jaguars would remain attached to one another. 

Ramsey played in one game since his request, a Thursday Night Football victory over the Titans. Since that, Ramsey missed a practice due to illness, missed another due to the birth of his second daughter, and then had a mysterious back injury that forced him to miss three consecutive games. 

Ramsey hadn't missed a game since entering the NFL, nor had he missed one at Florida State, making the timing of this injury strangely coincidental or shamefully milked for everything possible. 

Not even a "heart to heart" with owner Shad Khan last week could sway Ramsey. 

What happens now

Like they have the last three games, the Jaguars will continue to start Tre Herndon opposite A.J. Bouye in Ramsey's spot. Herndon had nine tackles in last Sunday's' 13-6 loss to the Saints. While obviously not the level of player as Ramsey or even Bouye, Herndon, a second-year player from Vanderbilt, is serviceable at the position for the time being.