3 reasons the Commanders should avoid Jalen Ramsey trade

Commanders must be wary of the past

The third reason to avoid this deal is pretty simple. I’ll spare you the pain of mentioning Albert Haynesworth, Dana Stubblefield, and Adam Archuleta. Oops, I think I did just mention them. All the past ghosts of big-time deals gone bad for the franchise on defense.

I’ll just say Josh Norman.

Jalen Ramsey is a better player than Norman. But the differences aren’t all that big.

Norman was coming off a first-team All-Pro season when Washington acquired him back in 2016. He was the same age as Ramsey but didn’t have the same track record.

But Norman had played very well in three of his four seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He also brought the toughness and swagger that Ramsey possesses.

For a while, Norman lived up to his billing. By year three with Washington, he essentially fell off the table and was eventually benched.

Wide receivers and cornerbacks typically regress quite a bit when they hit 30 years old. Ramsey might be an exception, but they are rare.

That means that Ramsey would likely be a two-year solution to one key position. A two-year fix for a team that is rebuilding its entire offensive line and developing a very young quarterback with one NFL start under his belt.

The math just doesn’t add up.

Unless.

With this one exception. Here is the one scenario under which the Washington Commanders should make a serious run at Ramsey. They should do it if they simultaneously address the quarterback situation by acquiring Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens.

That is indeed a push-all-your-cards-in, the future-be-damned move. I don’t think Jackson will really be available, so this is unrealistic. But if he is, then then you push a bunch of future first-round picks and promising youngsters into the center of the table and take your chances.

Building slow and steady through the draft is not exciting. But if you have patience, it works.

If you don’t have patience, then the worst thing you can do is take half-measures. Ramsey – by himself – is a half measure.

With Jackson, he becomes a Super Bowl or bust move.