Jalen Ramsey didn’t make any grand statements wrapped around Super Bowl guarantees or even that the cornerback combination of he and Xavien Howard are the best in the NFL, but his introductory press conference in Miami on Thursday still put his brash confidence on display.
The six-time Pro Bowl, three-time All-Pro cornerback, outfitted in Gucci from head to toe, embraced championship aspirations in his new home with the Dolphins. He mentioned hopes of securing first-ballot Hall of Fame status over the second half of his career. And for those that think he’s past his prime at 28, he had some pointed words.
“Alright,” he replied simply to a question about criticism for his 2022 season with the Los Angeles Rams. “Did you see me play last year? Cut on the film. You got to really watch it. You don’t become this successful without actually doing good things on the field and having the respect of your peers, media. … We gon’ see.”
And when you combine the desire to prove doubters wrong in a new situation, return to a Super Bowl after already winning one and form a potentially elite secondary, one can see why Ramsey tweeted Sunday, moments after news broke the Dolphins acquired him in a trade, that he prayed for this exact scenario to develop.
“I didn’t necessarily think like, ‘Oh, I’ll be traded,’ but once it kind of started to be reality, me and my team we sat down and we kind of wrote pros and cons of different situations going on,” Ramsey explained. “Which teams may be in need of a corner, which teams may be interested, which teams do I like, as well, which teams will I fit whatever they got going on.
“And I remember writing down Miami, and Miami stayed at the top of my list from the jump. So yeah, then I just started praying about it and it all started to visualize for me, so I’m ready. I hope it’s everything that I dreamed up and prayed about, and I’m sure it is, so I’m excited.”
And all it took in the trade for Miami, aside from the additional $25 million in guarantees to his contract in a restructured deal, was tight end Hunter Long and a third-round pick.
Ramsey thought back to how he and Howard were the two first-team All-Pro cornerbacks in the league in 2020. Now, the two veterans can team up to lock up opposing pass games in an AFC where it will be needed with quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen in the conference and Allen now soon to be joined by Aaron Rodgers in the Dolphins’ division of the AFC East with the New York Jets.
Ramsey has been a core piece of stout cornerback units and defenses with both the Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars, but he puts this group on top.
“On paper, this is the best group that I’ve been a part of, and I feel like I’ve been …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
