JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey said Tuesday he isn't backing off his comments in which he called Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen "trash" in an offseason interview with GQ magazine.
"Everybody who knows me knows why I was so hard on him," Ramsey said. "If you don't know me, that's on you. If y'all look deep into it, y'all can figure out why I was so harsh."
The Jaguars (3-7) and Bills (3-7) meet Sunday at New Era Field. Allen has missed the Bills' past four games with a sprained right elbow but is in line to return on Sunday.
Ramsey called Allen trash while explaining why he thought the 2018 NFL draft was "a little off" in the GQ piece that was published Aug. 15. He wondered why Lamar Jackson wasn't the second quarterback drafted if teams were so enamored with the athleticism, charisma, mobility and big-play ability of No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield.
"I think [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. We play them this year, and I'm excited as hell." Jalen Ramsey, in GQ interview published in August
Jackson ended up being the fifth quarterback drafted in the first round in April. The New York Jets drafted Sam Darnold third overall, the Bills took Allen at No. 7, and Arizona took Josh Rosen 10th. Baltimore selected Jackson with the last pick in the first round.
"I think Allen is trash," Ramsey said in the story. "I don't care what nobody say. He's trash. And it's gonna show, too. That's a stupid draft pick to me. We play them this year, and I'm excited as hell. I hope he's their starting quarterback. He played at Wyoming. Every time they played a big school -- like, they played Iowa State, which is not a big school in my opinion because I went to Florida State, and he threw five interceptions, and they lost by a couple touchdowns or something like that. He never beat a big school.
"If you look at his games against big schools, it was always hella interceptions, hella turnovers. It's like: 'Yo, if you're this good, why couldn't you do better?' He fits that mold, he's a big, tall quarterback. Big arm, supposedly. I don't see it, personally."
Allen didn't play against Iowa State while he was at Wyoming, but he did complete only 50 percent of his passes for 427 yards and one touchdown with eight interceptions against Nebraska, Iowa and Oregon. Wyoming lost those three games by a combined 92 points.
Allen on Monday reiterated what he said in August: Ramsey's comments didn't bother him.
"Honestly, I don't even remember what he said, but I could care less," Allen told the Buffalo media. "It's more what my teammates feel about me and how I'm progressing right now and just trying to continue to learn the game of football, enjoy this, and live it with my teammates."