JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - No one is safe from Jalen Ramsey’s trash talk. Not even his grandma.
The Jacksonville Jaguars star cornerback and one of the NFL’s most outspoken personalities said Thursday he “definitely would” hit his grandmother if she lined up against him on the football field.
“To respect the game, you have to play it fierce,” Ramsey said. “I don’t believe in having friends on the field. I mean, my brother, my dad, my mom, grandma was out there, like it’s on. After the game, we can be cool. It doesn’t matter. That’s how I feel, like, you’ve got to respect the game of football.
“Football is not a game meant to be played being nice to each other and all that, like kumbaya. After the game’s over with, that’s cool.”
Ramsey wouldn’t really hit his grandmother, would he?
“No, I definitely would,” he said. “She knows that. My grandma knows that. I love you, but she knows that.”
Ramsey added that granny “might not get up from one of my licks.”
Ramsey is a renowned trash-talker and one of the most competitive guys on the team.
The Jaguars (1-0) host the New England Patriots (1-0) on Sunday, a rematch of the AFC championship game, and surely will have a lot to say before, during and after the game.
Ramsey made headlines last month when he said in a magazine article about Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski “I don’t think Gronk’s good” and added “I don’t think Gronk is as great as people think he is.”
Gronkowski responded Wednesday , saying “if that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels.”
Gronkowski caught only one pass in the title game before getting knocked out with a concussion. Asked Thursday about his comments, Ramsey said he “might be crazy.”
“I don’t care,” Ramsey added. “He’s good. He’s good, now. We ain’t going to get it twisted. He’s good, but you saying this to me, is this supposed to bring fear to me or something? … I don’t fear no man, period. So he’s going to have to come out there and line up on me, or however it goes. He’s got to play us this year.”
Jacksonville planned in the previous meeting to let Ramsey cover Gronk when the tight end lined up wide, outside the hash marks.
Ramsey and defensive coordinator Todd Wash declined to provide details into what could be in store Sunday.
“I’m not sure,” Ramsey said. “I’m going to go out there and do whatever the coach asks me to do, to be honest. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I’m very confident in all of my teammates on the defensive side of the ball. Whoever goes against him, I’m very confident they’ll hold it down and I’ll do my job and I’ll hold it down where I’m at.”
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