Jalen Ramsey has not taken the field with his Jacksonville Jaguars teammates this week for a variety of reasons, the latest of which is apparently an ailing back.
On Wednesday, the Jaguars announced that Ramsey would not practice because of a back injury. The All-Pro cornerback has been receiving treatment for back and hamstring injuries, though there were no reports of him getting hurt during last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans. In fact, Ramsey played particularly well in the 20-7 win.
Earlier in the week, Ramsey called the Jaguars to inform them that he would not be able to come into work because he had what he believed to be the flu. The timing of all of this looks bad, of course, as Ramsey has not backed off of his trade demand and confirmed publicly last week that he does not want to play for the Jaguars anymore.
Ramsey asked the Jaguars to trade him last week a day after he got into a heated sideline confrontation with head coach Doug Marrone. However, his issues are said to be more with Tom Coughlin and Jacksonville’s front office than Marrone, though team owner Shad Khan is willing to make Ramsey the highest-paid cornerback in football and does not want to trade him.
While at least one team has reportedly made a significant trade offer for Ramsey, the Jaguars have been hesitant to deal him. He’s an All-Pro defensive back who still has another year remaining on his contract after 2019, so he doesn’t have much leverage. Perhaps Ramsey feels he can force the team’s hand by not practicing and/or playing.
