Jalen Ramsey pushes back on report that Rams are 'very likely' to trade him

With a salary cap crunch and a potential rebuild ahead of them, the Los Angeles Rams are apparently ready to move on from Jalen Ramsey.

The Rams have had trade talks about their All-Pro cornerback and are "very likely" to trade him in the next few weeks as a salary cap-clearing move, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Such a trade would end a tenure in Los Angeles that has lasted three and a half seasons, with Ramsey earning four Pro Bowl nods, two first-team All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl ring.

The Rams acquired and retained Ramsey at great expense in 2019, first sending two first-round draft picks and a fourth-rounder in a trade with Jacksonville Jaguars, then giving him a record five-year, $105 million contract extension less than a year later.

It's the latter move that now has the Rams reportedly on the verge of unloading Ramsey. The team currently sits at $14.9 million over the salary cap, per Over the Cap, though that number will go down around $5 million once Bobby Wagner, who agreed to an exit from the Rams on Thursday, is officially off the books.

Under Ramsey's current contract, he will hold a $25.2 million cap hit this season, $26.7 million in 2024 and $22.7 million in 2025. Trading him away would reportedly free up around $5.6 million in cap space this year once dead money is factored in.

It might surprise some people that the Rams would pick Ramsey to trade away, but the underlying math makes enough sense. However, Ramsey himself cast doubt on the report shortly after it hit social media:

It had been an eventful offseason on Ramsey's Twitter feed even before Friday's report, as the frequently online athlete has repeatedly sent out denials and cryptic messages as fans and brands discuss his future with the Rams.

None of this is pretty for the Rams, who famously disregarded the future in order to assemble a star-studded core in the present. That strategy paid off with their win at Super Bowl LVI, but we're now seeing the bill come due.

Trading Ramsey and releasing Wagner together wouldn't even free up enough space to get under the cap, so there are likely even more moves coming up soon.