While perhaps not the most glaring need on the 2023 New England Patriots roster, there’s no denying how important a number one cornerback is to the success of a football team, let alone the Pats. In each of their Super Bowl runs the team had a true number one, from the days of Ty Law to Darrelle Revis to Malcolm Butler and up to Stephon Gilmore. Since Gilly Lock left town via trade in 2021 (really since injury ended his 2020 campaign early), the Pats have lacked a legit top corner. With all due respect to the efforts of Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones, and even with a hopeful eye cast toward second-year corner Jack Jones, a shutdown corner just isn’t there. And to understate matters wildly, they could use one.
Maybe that number one corner can be found in this year’s draft? Some have mocked Penn State’s Joey Porter, Jr. and Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez to the Pats in the first round this April. Either working out would be a smash, but there’s no guarantee they’ll thrive. Free agency could be another avenue to pursue a top corner, with Tampa’s Jamel Dean the top corner on the market. He’ll likely cost several million more per season than Jonathan Jones but at least has youth and size advantages over Jones. Still, Dean is fine but not elite.
However, there is a top corner who could potentially be available. The team he’s currently on needs cap relief, though it’s unlikely they’ll gift him for a song or flat-out release a player as talented as he is. He would solve all the Pats’ corner needs, from talent to star power, swagger and more. So, in the words of WEEI.com legend Rob Bradford, “Who Says No?” to this trade?
The trade was proposed initially by NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal on the “Around The League” podcast (hit the 61 min mark), but at that price, who says no? Well, for starters, me! And apparently, judging by replies on social media, most every Pats fan. That’s just too much to give up, seeing as Ramsey will likely be in his prime but for two more years. The 14th overall pick is immensely valuable, plus adding in a receiver who could be pivotal to the 2023 offense under Bill O’Brien in Kendrick Bourne makes for an overpay.
HOWEVER…that’s not to say trading for Ramsey is a bad idea. In fact, if he’d be willing to take his talents to Foxborough and partner up with the NFL’s greatest defensive mind in Bill Belichick, and could get over his frustrations of the 2018 AFC championship game, it would be a brilliant move for the Patriots. Despite not being the premier corner in the league, Ramsey can still play at a very high level.
Acquiring Ramsey would be a classic Patriots move; addressing a glaring need and getting a top talent who may need a change of scenery, giving him a chance to flourish with one of the best coaches and be the star he was, and likely still believes himself to be. Plus acquiring Ramsey would allow Jalen Mills to shift to free safety should Devin McCourty retire, and he could be an on-field mentor to Jack Jones, who showed promise in his rookie season but is likely not ready for the spotlight of being a number one corner.
The Rams are approximately $15 million over the cap right now, having just released veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner after just one highly productive season. They still face a number of questions as to which players to move on from and how, not to mention a deficit of draft picks (we all know the famous Les Snead line about “them picks”) dealt away to build their 2021 Super Bowl champion team. Dealing Ramsey would get the Rams some of “them picks'' back while providing needed cap relief. Ramsey does carry a pretty hefty cap hit, which the Patriots could absorb, though a restructure would likely be in the works.
So just how much would a team like the Patriots be willing to part ways with? The Rams certainly won’t recoup the two number ones they dealt for Ramsey back in 2019, when he was the top corner and wanted to be paid as such, even showing up to Jaguars training camp in an armored car to prove the point. Perhaps a first? Maybe just a second rounder, given the situation the Rams, who floundered in their defense of their Super Bowl title, find themselves in? If the Rams decide they need to move him there will be a robust trade market, which is already building, with some star players openly lobbying for Ramsey to join them like Amon-Ra St. Brown in Detroit.
Fortune favors the bold, and trading for Ramsey would be a bold move to say the least. There are star receivers with speed to spare all over the AFC East, so loading up in the secondary makes sense to say the least. Ramsey addresses that need and a host more, telling Foxboro fans that the team is looking to win now as much as build for the future. Rosenthal might have the right idea, and the right trade partners, just maybe not the right compensation. But if he becomes available the Pats should jump the route like he has so many times and lock down one of the true lockdown corners in the league, at the right price.
Related
