As Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season rapidly approaches, fans of the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins have all latched on to one prevailing storyline above all others: Jalen Ramsey’s return to LA.
That’s right, after being traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars, mere miles away from where he became a star at Florida State University, to the City of Angeles, Ramsey really blossomed into a star playing for Sean McVay with the Rams, earning three Pro Bowl nods and a pair of All-Pro lists on the way to Super Bowl glory.
While his tenure ended with a whimper, not a roar, being traded to the Dolphins for Hunter Long and a third-round pick, Ramsey doesn’t hold it against the Rams, as his tenure in LA helped to bring back his love of football.
“At a time when I stopped liking football as much, then I got traded to LA, it just drastically changed everything for me. It’s amazing, just my whole LA experience. I literally have nothing bad to say about LA or my time in LA at all,” Ramsey told reporters via The Canadian Press.
“I’ll take the moment in to see some of my former teammates. A lot of guys who I still talk to who hit me up this week. I haven’t responded to them. I’ll take a moment to say hello to all the supporting staff that was in LA, who I built a lot of great relationships with, the training staff, the equipment staff. But I’m going to keep the main thing, the main thing.”
Despite his team’s lack of success in 2024, the Dolphins aren’t 2-6 because of Ramsey, as he’s played up to his usual standards and is currently ranked the second-best cornerback in the NFL, according to PFF. While his tenure in LA didn’t last forever, as, according to Les Snead, it was never going to, that doesn’t make the experience any less important or special, making Week 10 into more of a homecoming than a revenge game.
Mike McDaniel explains what makes Jalen Ramsey so special
Discussing what makes Ramsey so special and why the Dolphins decided to trade for him after nearly a decade in the NFL, McDaniel noted that the pride of FSU is simply unlike any other player in the NFL, as he simply has athletic gifts the likes of which few other can match.
“One of his superpowers is that he has so much skill set in a unique body,” McDaniel explained via The Canadian Press. “So he is exposed to a lot of football. He knows a ton about different techniques and fundamentals of defensive players, but also he’s got a strong opinion on offensive players, for sure — what they’re good at and what they’re vulnerable to.”
Eventually, Ramsey is going to lose a step or two, and his career prospects will have to be evaluated, but considering his football IQ and versatility, there’s little reason to believe he couldn’t follow in the footsteps of Charles Woodson and keep playing football at a high level, finishing out the decade as a starting safety after starting it as an elite cover cornerback. If Ramsey wants to follow that path, it will certainly be available to him, in Miami, LA, or beyond.
