As the month of June draws closer to an end, the Jalen Ramsey trade talk continues to dominate conversations in the NFL landscape.
Those trade talks don’t exactly include the Pittsburgh Steelers, though.
While ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers “checked in” on Ramsey’s availability this offseason, a move to Pittsburgh is something that NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport can’t see happening.
“I don’t see that happening. I don’t see Jalen Ramsey getting traded the Steelers now,” Rapoport said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show Friday. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was interest from the Steelers, ’cause they really have, I mean Omar Khan has been very open-minded about everyone available it seems. Which I kind of love.”
While a move for Ramsey from the Steelers’ perspective could be quite fun, and is feasible financially, from a roster building perspective it doesn’t make much sense at all. The Steelers are seemingly set at outside cornerback heading into the season with Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay as the starters, along with guys like Cory Trice Jr. and Brandin Echols as backups.
Ramsey would carry a big price tag for the season and isn’t a guy that would be a rotational piece at this point in his career. It would make things a bit messy at cornerback, though those things have a way of working themselves out in the end.
Where the Steelers seemingly have a need in the secondary is at slot corner, and while Ramsey can play in the slot, he’s not a full-time slot cornerback, and that would be a big swing at the position for the Steelers at this point in the summer.
Despite being a big name at the position, Ramsey allowed a career-high 70.8% completion percentage last season when targeted in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. While he limited yardage to just 546 yards and two touchdowns, he struggled in coverage off the line, giving up quick completions quite a bit.
Additionally, there’s the reports out there that Ramsey prefers a West Coast move. Of course, the same thing was said about WR DK Metcalf before he was ultimately traded to the Steelers, but Ramsey previously played on the West Coast with the Rams, where he had the most success of his career.
Insiders expect Ramsey to be traded before the start of training camp in late July, but right now it doesn’t seem like the Steelers are a realistic landing spot.
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