PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Jalen Ramsey has been to seven Pro Bowls as a corner. He’s fifth among active players in career interceptions, yet Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the discussion with him to move to safety last week and now this week as well, couldn’t have been smoother.
“Oh, he was great,” Austin said Thursday. “When the conversation came up, he knew where we were at the time at safety and he would do anything to win.”
It was a dire situation leading up to the Colts game with safety Chuck Clark out sick, Jabrill Peppers injured and they had already put DeShon Elliott on Injured Reserve. The team had also traded for Kyle Dugger. He arrived on Thursday and they needed Elliott to work with Dugger to help him make it through a game which Dugger played all but one defensive snap.
Clark is healthy, but the decision was to keep Ramsey at safety for at least one more week. Again, no issues from the 31-year-old.
“I think guys like him, man, they're just football players,” Austin said. “They just love to play ball, and they love to win. Whatever you need to do to win, he's all
for. So, it was no problem. There was no kickback. It was actually like okay, hey, what do you need me to do? Let's go.”
Ramsey didn’t personally grab any turnovers against Indianapolis, but was part of a defense that forced five. His contribution cannot be ruled out for if he wasn’t doing his job, others couldn’t make plays. Ramsey did have a memorable solo tackle, one of five in the game, on Colts tight end Tyler Warren, stopping him short of a first down.
When they acquired Ramsey from Miami, the coaches laid out a plan of him playing multiple positions. The idea was to use him all over the field because of the matchups he could give the Steelers defense. It was something he was excited about, but they’ve rarely been fully healthy and with the loss of Elliott, won’t likely be for the rest of the season.
The comparison is being made between Ramsey and another former Steelers Pro Bowl corner that switched to safety. Austin was doing an internship with the Baltimore Ravens when Rod Woodson had moved to safety. He made sure to avoid comparing Ramsey and Woodson, but said the 6'1", 211-pound Ramsey is probably aware of Rod’s story. Austin said it would be a nice blueprint for Ramsey,
“He's aware of those guys (who have moved from corner to safety), but I think right now he's trying to make his mark and continue to be at the top of his profession the way he does it,” Austin said.
How that plays out, likely depends on a number of factors. But it seems that as long as it helps the Steelers win, Ramsey’s up for whatever.