Jags send Ramsey to Rams for two 1st-rounders

7:45 PM ETMichael DiRoccoESPN Staff Writer CloseCovered University of Florida for 13 seasons for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union
Graduate of Jacksonville University
Multiple APSE award winnerJACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jalen Ramsey got what he wanted, and so did the Jacksonville Jaguars.As a result, the disgruntled cornerback is headed to the Los Angeles Rams.The Jaguars on Tuesday sent Ramsey to the West Coast for first-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 and a fourth-rounder in 2021, the teams announced. Ramsey joins two former Jaguars on the Rams in defensive end Dante Fowler and quarterback Blake Bortles — all three were taken with top-five draft picks from 2014 to 2016.The move fills major holes in the secondary for a Rams team that is coming off an NFC title but has lost three straight games to fall to .500 on the season. The Rams expect Ramsey to pass a physical and to be available to play Sunday against the Falcons in Atlanta.Los Angeles on Monday put starting cornerback Aqib Talib on injured reserve with a rib injury. Earlier Tuesday, the Rams traded Pro Bowl corner Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens for linebacker Kenny Young and a fifth-round 2020 draft pick.The Ramsey trade comes less than a week after Jaguars owner Shad Khan had what he described as a “heart-to-heart” meeting with the cornerback and two weeks after Khan told The Associated Press he didn’t want to deal the two-time Pro Bowler.The Rams’ offer apparently was enough to change his mind.Ramsey asked to be traded after Jaguars vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin scolded him for his actions during the team’s Week 2 loss at Houston. Ramsey got into a sideline shouting match with Doug Marrone after the Jaguars coach refused Ramsey’s request to challenge a completion to DeAndre Hopkins.Ramsey played against Tennessee the following Thursday but did not practice on the ensuing Monday because of an illness. He also missed that Wednesday’s practice with a back injury. Marrone said he didn’t know when Ramsey suffered the injury, but three hours later the team released a statement saying Ramsey actually did report back soreness to the team’s medical staff during the fourth quarter of the game against the Titans.play1:16Jack Del Rio likes the Rams’ acquisition of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, likening his on-field impact to Deion Sanders and Champ Bailey.Later that day, the team announced that Ramsey would return to Nashville, Tennessee, for the impending birth of his second child.”Given the situation with Jalen, we made this decision based on what we thought is in the best interest of the Jacksonville Jaguars, for this season and well into the future,” Coughlin said Wednesday in a statement. “We feel the trade that we struck with the Rams gives us great value for the next two drafts, and we remain very confident that our team today will compete this season for a division title. Jalen was a productive player, but the time came to move on and we wish him and his family the best in Los Angeles.”Ramsey was inactive for the past three games because of the back injury, snapping a streak of 51 consecutive starts that dated to when the Jaguars selected him fifth overall in 2016. He has nine interceptions and 45 pass breakups in his three-plus seasons.Ramsey turns 25 on Oct. 24. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, he becomes just the second non-special-teams player to make first-team All-Pro (2017) and then play for a different team before turning 25. Jerome Bettis was traded from the Rams to the Steelers at age 24.Ramsey is in the fourth season of his five-year rookie deal; he is set to make $13.7 million in 2020. He arrived at training camp in July in an armored bank truck, undoubtedly a not-so-subtle indication he was in search of a raise.A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Rams and Ramsey do not have any type of new deal in place and that the cornerback is not in a rush to get one done.After the deal, the Rams moved from 60-1 to 50-1 to win the Super Bowl and from 25-1 to 20-1 to win the NFC at Caesars Sportsbook.In losing three in a row, the Rams have allowed the second-highest Total QBR during that span (81.6, behind only the 82.0 of the Falcons).Ramsey should help.From 2016 to 2018, he recorded the fourth-most pass breakups in the league. And according to NFL Next Gen Stats, he has the fourth-lowest completion percentage allowed as the nearest defender since his rookie year in 2016 (minimum 200 targets).But the move comes at a cost for Los Angeles.The Rams haven’t had a first-round pick since selecting quarterback Jared Goff first overall in 2016. They don’t own another first-rounder until 2022.ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry and David Purdum contributed to this report.