Rams GM Les Snead: No Timeline For Jalen Ramsey Extension

Rams GM Les Snead said at the Combine on Tuesday that there’s still no timeline regarding a contract extension for CB Jalen Ramsey. 

“There’s really no timeline on that, like when the deal gets done, at this point. But we’d definitely like to have Jalen helping the Rams for more than just the 2020 season,” Snead said, per Gary Klein. 

Ramsey will be entering the final year his rookie contract after the Jaguars picked up his fifth-year option last year. However, it would be tough for the Rams to allow him to walk in 2021 after what they traded in terms of draft capital to get him from Jacksonville at the deadline last year. 

Back in October of last year, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that before the Rams the trade with the Jaguars for Ramsey, he promised them that even if they do not agree to a long-term deal this offseason, he will not hold out in 2020.

However, if the two parties are unable to get a long-term deal and the Rams respond by franchising him in 2021, all bets are off and he could hold out at that point. 

Even so, the Rams apparently got a promise that Ramsey would honor his contract that pays over the next two seasons, which made them comfortable enough to trade away a lot of draft picks without a long-term deal in place. 

“That is a gift,” one league source aware of Ramsey’s promise tells Schefter. “Most guys when they get traded — Khalil Mack, Antonio Brown — they get traded and sign a new deal. He’s gifting the Rams two wholesale years and not requiring a rip-up.”

Schefter said that Ramsey isn’t in any rush to do a new deal with the Rams and both sides are aware that his next contract will likely set a record for a defensive player. 

Interestingly enough, Schefter mentioned at the time that while the Rams want to re-sign Ramsey and intend to do so, they could still turn around and trade him to recoup their investment if they’re unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal. 

Ramsey, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2016. He signed a four-year, $23.35 million contract and is set to make a base salary of $3.63 million in 2019.

The Jaguars picked up Ramsey’s fifth-year option that will cost them around $13 million for the 2020 season before trading him to the Rams last year for two first-round picks and a fourth-round selection.

In 2019, Ramsey appeared in 12 games for the Jaguars and Rams and recorded 50 tackles, one interception, two forced fumbles and five passes defended.

We’ll have more regarding the Rams and Ramsey as the news is available.