Redskins trading for Jalen Ramsey wouldn’t make sense

Another year, another trade target who can supposedly save the Redskins season.

The NFL has been busier than usual in the early goings of the 2019 campaign. There’ve been ground-breaking retirements, injuries, breakups, and deals, and the product, yet unfinished, has already drastically changed the NFL landscape. From Andrew Luck hanging up his cleats, to Antonio Brown taking his helmet to New England, the Washington Redskins have the front seat at quite a show.

The Redskins, however, are not your ordinary audience. For Washington, this show can be interactive, and we’ve seen them invest in it before. Just last year, the Redskins traded a fourth-round pick for Ha Ha Clinton-Dix ahead of the trade deadline, and now, just after Week 2, more trade candidates have surfaced.

Former Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick recently garnered some interest in D.C., but he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Steelers late last night. For the sake of the intrigue, however, he’s not the only defensive back from Florida who wants to leave the palm trees behind. Out of Jacksonville, a tenuous situation has exploded, and now All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey wants out.

In a vacuum, the move makes sense for the Redskins. The Redskins want to win, and they could use an upgrade a cornerback, with Josh Norman disappointing and Quinton Dunbar and Fabian Moreau both fielding injuries. Ramsey provides that; if he’s not the best cornerback in the NFL, he’s at least in the top five. Ramsey is also just 24 years old, and he’d provide youth, moxie, athleticism, and durability, all valuable traits from a cornerback.

Delve further into the situation, however, and the move is less feasible. Ramsey has made it clear that his primary desire is to win now, and he’s wasted no time voicing his displeasure for the Jaguars’ inability to do so. The Redskins, 0-2 after the first two weeks, do not fulfill that need for Ramsey, and it’s unlikely they’ll rebound well enough to change his mind.

Also, as Ian Rapoport reported, Ramsey also took issue with Jacksonville’s usage of him, as of late. Ramsey, per Rapoport, wants to play more man-to-man coverage and inflict physicality on his opponents. On the other hand, Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky is notorious for leaving his cornerbacks in zone coverage, even in man situations, and it wouldn’t be long before Ramsey would take issue with his role in D.C. as well. For all the high-priced draft capital it would take to get Ramsey, as well as the cost of an eventual contract, the composite return would not be worth it.

Sure, on the surface, we all want to win. We all want to get the best players. But draft capital is a finite currency, and culture is a fragile thing. Trading a treasure trove for an unhappy Jalen Ramsey, just to keep him unhappy, simply doesn’t make sense.