LOS ANGELES — The Rams traded for Jalen Ramsey on a Tuesday in 2019. Future first- and fourth-round picks were what it took to add the cornerback who would go on to play a critical role in the franchise’s run to a Super Bowl two years later. He flew across the country from Jacksonville, arrived at the Rams’ practice facility and walked into his first defensive meeting ahead of a game against the Atlanta Falcons.
“He walked in the building and said, ‘I got Julio [Jones],’ ” then-outside linebackers coach, current-defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “We were like, ‘Alright, we’ve got a good one.’ “
Ramsey will return to SoFi Stadium on Monday to play the Rams (4-4) for the first time since they traded him to the Miami Dolphins (2-6) prior to the 2023 season, part of a roster purge to reset the books following years of stretching to win that elusive Lombardi Trophy.
Between the honest conversations that Ramsey had with the Rams prior to his exit, the team’s efforts to find a desired landing spot for him in trade talks, and the place the franchise occupies in his football career, the ultra-competitive corner isn’t returning to Inglewood holding a grudge.
“At a time when I stopped liking football as much, I got traded to LA, and it just drastically changed everything for me,” Ramsey told reporters in Miami on Saturday. “It was just amazing. Just my whole LA experience, I literally have nothing bad to say about LA or my time in LA.”
The Rams feel the same way. Whether former coaches or teammates who practiced with or against him during his time in Los Angeles, they gushed about Ramsey the teammate as much as Ramsey the player.
But they know they will only be lining up across from Ramsey the player on Monday, and he is still every bit the cornerback who earned two of his three first-team All-Pro designations while with the Rams.
“He affects the game in so many different ways, even if a lot of times guys are staying away from him. It’s basically a one for one that he’s taking away out there,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “He’s doing a heck of a job like he always does. He’s mixing it in there in the run game, finishing plays, blitzing, sacking the quarterback and getting a tipped interception last week. He’s doing all the things you want from Jalen Ramsey.”
“There were a lot of times when he played that star role for us for a while and with me playing in the slot a lot of the time, we ended up being matched up on each other often,” added receiver Cooper Kupp about practicing against Ramsey. “It was always so competitive. The physicality and the urgency that he plays with, it makes you meet him there. You can’t hesitate at all.”
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As much attention as the Rams offense will spend on Ramsey this week, members of a secondary that felt his influence during his tenure are eager to see the veteran they learned so much from in person again.
“As the game goes on, I’m going to be watching him,” said Cobie Durant, who was a rookie during Ramsey’s last season in Los Angeles. “He just took me under his wing, just helped me. He seen the potential that I have, him greeting me with open arms, taking me under his wing and taking me with him, helped elevate my game.”
Not a lot has gone right this year for the Dolphins, who have lost six of seven since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left Week 2 with a concussion. While the defense is still finding itself, the offense has begun to look more like a typical Mike McDaniel attack; Miami has scored 27 points in back-to-back weeks since Tagovailoa’s return from injured reserve, although both games have ended in Dolphins losses.
“It’s the speed. It’s the physicality they play with as the O-line runs off the ball and it’s a running offense,” Shula said. “The biggest thing is great effort and great pursuit to the ball. Any one-on-one tackle in space against really any of those guys is going to be extremely tough for anybody in the NFL because they have elite players.”