Jalen Ramsey to Detroit is picking up steam.
With the star cornerback likely to be traded by the Rams, the Lions have emerged as one of his most likely suitors.
They have the draft capital to strike a deal, they have the need at corner and they have the incentive to swing big as a team on the rise -- which should appeal to Ramsey's desire to win. They might also have the inside track with Rams RM Les Snead, who mentored Lions GM Brad Holmes on his path to Detroit.
If Ramsey is indeed playing for a new team next season, the Lions are his second most likely spot per BetOnline.ag, with 5/4 odds. Only the Raiders' odds (1/1) are better. The Bengals are third at 9/1.
NFL Network reported last Friday that the Rams have had trade talks about Ramsey and that it's very likely he's dealt in the coming weeks. The club is trying to regather draft capital and clear cap space after going all-in to win the Super Bowl in the 2021 season.
Coming off his sixth straight Pro Bowl season, Ramsey is signed for three more years with respective cap hits of $25.2, $26.7 and $22.7 million. The Lions are already under the salary cap for 2023, which is set to increase by $16 million, and cleared an additional $10 million with last week's release of Michael Brockers.
Ramsey, 28, set a career-high with 18 passes defended and tied a career-high with four picks last season, two of which came in the Rams' season finale when they nearly beat the Seahawks to open the door for the Lions to make the playoffs.
"Tried my hardest to get y'all in them playoffs," Ramsey said last week on Twitter, in response to Amon-Ra St. Brown trying to recruit him to Detroit. And St. Brown isn't the only one making the pitch. Corner Jerry Jacobs joined the party over the weekend:
It's not up to St. Brown or Jacobs, of course. It's up to Holmes and the Lions and Snead and the Rams -- and Ramsey, to an extent. The interest has to be mutual for any trade to make sense. The Lions aren't burning draft picks and cap space if Ramsey doesn't want to be here.
Holmes might prefer to keep his picks, anyway. He might prefer to wield his cap space in free agency. He might prefer to take a different swing altogether, or no swing at all. Slowly, he's built a pretty good team through the draft.
Then again, that team is still a couple pieces away, especially on defense. Ramsey could be one of them.
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