The hot new trend among star NFL players is an NBA-style effort to get themselves out of bad situations and into better ones. It started with a trickle. Le'Veon Bell sat out the whole 2018 season. Antonio Brown did all he could to force a trade out of Pittsburgh. Heck, for a minute there you could convince yourself it was just a Pittsburgh Steelers thing.
But not anymore. Not now that Dee Ford, Frank Clark and Jadeveon Clowney all got traded from teams that gave them the franchise tag. Not now that Minkah Fitzpatrick -- the 11th overall pick in last year's draft -- requested and received a trade off the sinking Miami Dolphins' ship. Now, if you're an NFL player under contract who doesn't like his coach or his salary or the direction of his team, there are multiple blueprints available to help you figure out a way to make it better.
Enter Jacksonville Jaguars star Jalen Ramsey, perhaps the finest cornerback in the league. Five weeks shy of his 25th birthday, Ramsey is scheduled to earn about $17 million over the next two years and, it appears, is absolutely fed up with coach Doug Marrone.
Ramsey has asked the Jaguars to trade him and even appeared at a news conference Tuesday to address -- or at least dance around -- the issues at play. He did not deny requesting a trade, even as he promised he'd play hard and try to beat the Tennessee Titans on Thursday ("if I'm still here"). He seemed confident in where he stands. He carried the air of a man convinced it would all work out the way he wants.
For a player as good as Ramsey is, it's easy to feel that way. And in the NFL circa September 2019, there's even less reason to doubt it. Let's look at this Ramsey situation from a few different angles to see if we can educate you on what's happening and how it's all likely to shake out:
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Five trade fits that make sense
What the Jags want in a deal
Why Ramsey's contract is tricky