Jalen Ramsey is Costing Himself a Ton of Money With Tomfoolery

Jalen Ramsey forced his way out of Jacksonville and promised to play nice in La La Land. But like the good actor he is, it was all a farce and he's back to his old ways again-- which is ultimately going to cost him at the contract negotiating table.

Ramsey got into a verbal confrontation with Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters on the field following the Rams beatdown loss against Baltimore on Monday night and then had to be restrained from going after Peters in the tunnel following the on-field skirmish.

This follows a pattern of behavior Ramsey has demonstrated throughout his career. He got into a fight with A.J. Green on the field, got into a fight with Johnny Holton on the field, got into a heated sideline confrontation with his coach Doug Marrone, called out his defensive coordinator on multiple occasions with the Jags and also called out every quarterback in the league in a GQ article. Now he's fighting with Peters and the Ravens after receiving the trade he publicly demanded.

That's not good for business. Even worse? For a guy with one year left on his rookie deal, he's not dominating on the field either.

So far Ramsey has zero interceptions on the season and three passes defended. He's also been called for two pass interference penalties since joining the Rams.

This is not to discount Ramsey's ability as a player. He has shown he can be among the best cornerbacks in football. But when you are an on-field and off-field distraction who consistently puts himself above the team, a lot of franchises are going to shy away from signing you in free agency, which in turn is going to impact the bidding war for you in free agency, which in turn is going to lower your contract.

Of course, the Rams traded two first-round picks for him, so they're pretty invested. Ramsey also said he wouldn't hold out heading into the 2020 season (his last under contract) if he didn't reach a new deal with the Rams before that, so he's trying to play nice. But why would a team invest over $36 million in guaranteed money (the highest for a corner in the NFL currently, which we can assume Ramsey wants as a baseline) to a player with this many issues?

Ramsey has got the talent, but in the NFL talent is only half the equation. If Ramsey keeps acting (and playing) the way he is, the other half of the equation will cost him during contract negotiations.