Les Snead admitted on Wednesday that the Los Angeles Rams traded Marcus Peters to the Ravens without any assurance they would get Jalen Ramsey. They also acquired Ramsey from the Jaguars without a long-term extension in place.
Ramsey has one year left on his contract after this season and he’s made it very clear he wants to be paid handsomely. After giving up two first-round picks, the Rams are almost certain to be the team grant Ramsey’s wish.
But there’s no indication a deal will get done soon, which has some fans worried an extension won’t get done – the same way one didn’t get done with Marcus Peters and Sammy Watkins. Snead said on Thursday that the team did talk to Ramsey’s representatives about a contract briefly before the trade was finalized, saying it was a “very productive” chat.
“Before we finalized the deal, we did talk with Jalen’s representatives,” Snead said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “We expressed our paradigm, they expressed theirs and I’ll keep it at that and obviously the trade got done so the conversation was not elaborate – brief, but it was very productive from that telescopic point of view.”
The Rams would probably rather not let Ramsey go very long without having an extension in place, because of the divide that can cause between a player and team. Look at what it did to Melvin Gordon this season with the Chargers opting not to extend him.
Snead made it clear that cornerback is a position of high priority for the Rams – who have a history of letting defensive backs walk in free agency – if it’s the right player.
“When you’re budgeting or how you’re figuring out future ways to basically spend your cap allotment, corner – if it’s the right corner – is always probably a piece where you’re going if it’s the right corner or the right rusher – maybe the right left tackle, obviously quarterback or humans that can score touchdowns – you probably always have those positions and what they can do and their value budgeted in. So that’s what helps you think into the future and determine if you can make these types of moves,” Snead added.
The Rams have time to get a deal done as Ramsey won’t be a free agent until March 2021, but the sooner a contract gets done, the easier both sides can sleep at night.
