Jalen Ramsey Doubles Down by Trashing QBs in Interview

Jalen Ramsey is a great player and one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s also positioning himself for becoming one of the biggest villains.

He already got himself in trouble with the Jacksonville Jaguars when he attacked local media for how they treated him and teammates. This earned him a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. One would think that slap on the wrist would teach him a thing or two about self-control. Based on a recent interview with GQ Magazine, it seems like the complete opposite is true. Ramsey is louder and more careless than ever.

The interview was meant to be about him and his life and career. Instead it quickly devolved into interviewer Clay Skipper feeding the outspoken defender names of quarterbacks around the NFL for a rather unvarnished opinion. What followed was a series of unapologetic trashings of several notable names from rookies to former MVPs and Super Bowl winners. While he will call it honesty, other people may end up seeing it differently.

One thing is for sure. What Ramsey said will provide plenty of motivation for several Jaguars opponents this year to shut him up. It’s hard to say where this cockiness came from. While his team did reach the AFC championship, they were 10-6 and narrowly won both of their playoff games against Buffalo and Pittsburgh. Is he doing it just to get attention? Hard to say.

Jalen Ramsey attacks several QBs including ones he never played

Probably the names who drew most of the criticism from the young corner were those known for their big bodies and big arms. Leading off was Buffalo Bills #7 overall pick Josh Allen. Ramsey had bad things to say about several quarterbacks, but he was especially harsh towards the rookie.

Josh Allen

"“I think [Buffalo Bills draft pick Josh] Allen is trash. I don’t care what nobody say. He’s trash. And it’s gonna show too. That’s a stupid draft pick to me”"

Jimmy Garoppolo

"“I don’t know yet. Just cause when they beat us, his hype picked up. They were like, “He beat the number one defense.” It was all schemes. He didn’t beat us. It wasn’t like he diced us up. It was literally all schemes.”"

Blake Bortles

"“Blake do what he gotta do… I think in crunch time moments, like last year’s playoff game—not as a team, because we would have trusted him—but I think as an organization, we should have trusted him more to keep throwing it.”"

Matt Ryan

"“I think Matt Ryan’s overrated. You can’t tell me you win MVP two years ago, and then last year, you a complete bust, and you still got Julio Jones? There’s no way that should ever happen.”"

Andrew Luck

"“Andrew Luck—I don’t really think he’s that good. Him and T.Y. [Hilton] had a connection in the past that made him stand out a little bit more, but I don’t think he’s good.”"

Eli Manning

"“Eli [Manning]… It’s not really Eli. I think it’s Odell [Beckham, Jr.]. I won’t say Eli’s good, I’ll say Odell’s good. And their connection is good.”"

Joe Flacco

"“I would’ve picked [Lamar Jackson] earlier than 32. I think he’s gonna do a good job. Especially with the [Baltimore Ravens’] offensive coordinator—he likes running quarterbacks, likes that read option. And just being honest about it, [Joe] Flacco sucks. I played him two years in a row. He sucks.”"

While he singled out several good ones like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady it’s interesting that Ramsey lightened up his criticism of all the black quarterbacks including Tyrod Taylor and Lamar Jackson. This doesn’t mean he’s racist but it does hint at a certain bias that he doesn’t do his best job of hiding during this interview.

It’s funny that he feels he can be the expert who criticizes men like Roethlisberger, Manning or Flacco. Men who have actual rings on their fingers while he does not. Until that changes all these spouted quotes will be nothing more than headline-grabbers. An attempt to establish an image he wants people to see as a player who doesn’t play by the rules. He’s going to say what he thinks.

That’s fine, but it doesn’t make anything he says the truth.

Home/NFL Hot Takes