JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Jalen Ramsey’s three-plus seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars have been far from smooth.
Between fighting, trash-talking, getting ejected, being suspended, questioning coaches, ripping quarterbacks and requesting a trade, Ramsey has crammed a career’s worth of chaos into 51 games.
Skipping practice this week - for several reasons - hardly created a stir in Jacksonville’s locker room. Teammates, coaches and others inside the football facility have learned to endure Ramsey’s antics.
The Jaguars (1-2) also seem to be doing everything possible to appease the disgruntled star. They believe he’s worth the headaches, although they have a 19-32 record during the two-time Pro Bowler’s tenure.
“I’m not sure if I’ve played my final game for the Jags yet or not, but my trade request still stands,” Ramsey told the Uninterrupted’s “17 Weeks” podcast, which was released Thursday. “For me, respect is a huge thing. … Once respect is lost for both parties, I think it is time to part ways. I’m going to continue being a top corner in this league for years to come. The money will come, but money isn’t everything. Peace and happiness means a lot more than the money.”
Ramsey hasn’t missed a start in his professional career. The Jaguars hope the streak continues Sunday at Denver (0-3). Either way, it will be the next bullet point in Ramsey’s roller-coaster resume.
Here’s a look:
-April 28, 2016: Jacksonville selects Ramsey fifth overall in the NFL draft.
-Sept. 25, 2016: Ramsey rips Baltimore receiver Steve Smith after Jacksonville’s 19-17 victory, calls him an old man and says he has no respect for the future Hall of Famer.
-Oct. 16, 2016: Ramsey holds Chicago’s Alshon Jeffery to one catch for 3 yards in the second half and knocks down Brian Hoyer’s fourth-down pass to Jeffery to seal a 17-16 win.
-Oct. 23, 2016: Ramsey gets ejected late in the fourth quarter of a loss to Oakland after scuffling with receiver Johnny Holton.
-Nov. 20, 2016: TV cameras catch Ramsey crying on the sideline and saying “I’m tired of losing” late in a loss at Detroit.
-Dec. 18, 2016: Ramsey has the best game of his rookie season, holding DeAndre Hopkins to eight catches on 17 targets and recording his first interception in a 21-20 loss at Houston. The Jags fire coach Gus Bradley following the game.
-Jan. 1, 2017: Following a season-ending loss to Indianapolis, Ramsey and two teammates complain about defensive coordinator Todd Wash. Ramsey suggests a “complete flip” of the defensive coaching staff.
-Nov. 5, 2017: Ramsey and Bengals receiver A.J. Green were ejected for fighting just before halftime of Jacksonville’s 23-7 victory. Three days later, Ramsey said he provoked the attack by calling Green weak and soft.
- Jan. 7, 2018: Ramsey makes a diving interception with 26 seconds left to seal a 10-3 victory against Buffalo in an AFC wild-card game. It was Jacksonville’s first playoff game in a decade and first at home since 2000.
-Jan. 14, 2018: Hours after a playoff victory at Pittsburgh, Ramsey tells a crowd gathered at TIAA Bank Field that the Jaguars are going to beat New England in the AFC title game.
-Jan. 21, 2018: Ramsey is critical of Wash’s decision to play zone coverage for much of the fourth quarter against the Patriots, a 24-20 loss that saw New England overcome a 10-point deficit in the final 12 minutes.
-Aug. 13, 2018: Ramsey and Dante Fowler Jr. are suspended a week for violating team rules. Ramsey went on a profane rant against media members and threatened one on Twitter. Fowler and fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue got into a post-practice fight.
-Aug. 15, 2018: GQ magazine publishes a story in which Ramsey criticizes several NFL quarterbacks. He calls Buffalo’s Josh Allen trash, says Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is overrated and adds that Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger is “decent at best.” He also compliments others, including Houston’s Deshaun Watson and New Orleans’ Drew Brees.
-Sept. 13, 2018: Ramsey says he definitely would hit his grandmother if she lined up against him on the football field.
-Nov. 11, 2018: Ramsey is responsible for three coverage busts, two of which result in touchdowns, in a 29-26 loss at Indianapolis. Ramsey hints that he’s unhappy in Jacksonville in several social media posts the following morning.
-Nov. 15, 2018: Ramsey insists he wants to play his entire career in Jacksonville.
-Nov. 18, 2018: Jaguars denied an ESPN report stating the team is likely to consider trading Ramsey in the offseason.
-April 18, 2019: Executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin calls out Ramsey and linebacker Telvin Smith for not attending voluntary workouts. Coughlin doesn’t mention either by name, but they are the team’s only players skipping workouts.
-April 19, 2019: Ramsey responds to Coughlin’s comments by saying the team knows why he’s not there and that he’ll show up in shape when attendance is mandatory.
-April 25, 2019: The Jaguars pick up the fifth-year option in Ramsey’s contract, which would pay him $13.7 million in 2020.
-June 11, 2019: Ramsey says Jacksonville has no plans to offer him a contract extension in 2019. Ramsey jokes on social media later that day that he’s going to “ask for so much money, they have to put me on layaway.”
-July 24, 2019: He reports to training camp in the back of an armored bank truck, a not-so-subtle hint to his desire for a new contract.
-Aug. 5, 2019: Ramsey tells a podcast co-hosted by Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan that his ideal landing spots would be Nashville or Las Vegas if Jacksonville lets him hit free agency.
-Sept. 15, 2019: Ramsey gets into a heated exchange with Marrone on the sideline at Houston. He’s upset Marrone didn’t challenge a 3-yard completion to Hopkins. Ramsey and Marrone have to be separated near the bench. Coughlin reportedly chastises Ramsey in a private meeting after the game. Ramsey calls his agent and says “my time is up here in Jacksonville.”
-Sept. 17, 2019: Ramsey holds a 16-minute news conference in which he confirms his trade request, says he doesn’t want to be a distraction and insists he will play hard “as long as I’m part of this team.”
-Sept. 19, 2019: He tells the “17 Weeks” podcast that his trade request stemmed from “some disrespectful things said on their end.” Ramsey plays in the team’s 20-7 victory over Tennessee and hugs several teammates after the game. Ramsey declines to answer any questions about his trade request.
-Sept. 22, 2019: Ramsey notifies the team that he is sick and misses practice.
-Sept. 25, 2019: Ramsey misses practice because of an apparent back injury. The team later announces that Ramsey has left to be with his family for the birth of his second child in Nashville, Tennessee. Marrone says Ramsey will return “when he’s ready.”
-Sept. 26, 2019: Ramsey tells the “17 Weeks” podcast that his trade request still stands, adding it is time to part ways when “respect is lost for both parties.”
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