Jalen Ramsey wasn’t concerned if teammates were upset

Jacksonville Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey skipped the team’s organized team activities offseason, a story that came and went without much of a hit on the news cycle. Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone kind of squashed the story right away, stating he’s in constant communication with Ramsey and while he’d like him in Jacksonville, he’s confident he’d be ready.

Ramsey was back this week for mandatory workouts and talked a little bit about why he missed OTAs and and if his teammates were upset with him skipping.

“How do I put this the nicest way possible? I don’t think any of my teammates had an issue because they knew I was going to come back ready,” Ramsey said when he was asked if any of his teammates would be upset he skipped OTAs. ”But at the same time, if they did, I do not think I would care because once I get out here … I know what I was doing was the right thing for me. I know what I was doing was going to get me prepared as best as anything for the season. Once I put that out on the field, there won’t be any issues.“

Ramsey trained with his father during the offseason in Tennessee at Ramsey Performance Training, the performance business Jalen‘s father owns. Jalen wanted to make sure he was in the best shape coming into his third season in the NFL so he could build off of his All-Pro 2017 season. Even if his teammates had a problem, it doesn’t seem like Jalen was all that concerned.

“I have a good relationship with all my teammates anyway, so if they did [have an issue], they would hit me up,” Ramsey added. ”I did it respectful. I wasn’t just like, ‘F’ y’all, I’m out.’ I hit up people. I hit up people. I was like, ‘This is my plan for the offseason.’ It is not that I felt that I owed anybody an explanation, it is just that is how we vibe. That is the locker room. We are all kind of young. We all kick it, we are all friends – everything like that. It was kind of like I am talking to them on a regular basis. We are always talking. It was just like, ‘I know you are all about to start it up. I’m not coming. I am doing my thing. No worries.’ They kind of said it right back – ‘Yeah, you are good.’”

Entering his third season in the NFL, Ramsey is already considered one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and is part of arguably the best cornerback tandem in the league, across from AJ Bouye.