Before the Los Angeles Rams completed last week's blockbuster trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars for Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey, they received a promise that made them comfortable with the deal.
Ramsey promised the Rams that even if the sides do not agree to a long-term deal this offseason, he will not hold out next season in the last year of his contract, league sources told ESPN.
Ramsey told the Rams, however, that if the sides are unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal and Los Angeles then uses its franchise tag on him in the winter of 2021, all bets are off and he could hold out, according to sources.
But the Rams got a promise that Ramsey would honor his contract this and next season without interruption, and it made them comfortable to go ahead and trade two first-round draft picks and a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville.
"That is a gift," one league source aware of Ramsey's promise told ESPN. "Most guys when they get traded -- Khalil Mack, Antonio Brown -- they get traded and sign a new deal. He's gifting the Rams two wholesale years and not requiring a rip-up."
Not only is Ramsey gifting the Rams this and next season, but he also isn't in any rush to do a new deal with them. He would like a new deal, and so would the Rams, and both know the contract would set records for an NFL cornerback and could set records for an NFL defensive player.
Another twist to this past week's trade is that although the Rams want to re-sign Ramsey and intend to do so, they could turn around and trade him to recoup their investment -- if the sides can't reach a long-term deal.
Among the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers and even a Jacksonville team that begrudgingly traded Ramsey, the Rams believe there would be a strong market to get back a healthy portion of the compensation they gave up.