Remember when the Raiders were talked about in Jalen Ramsey trade rumors? Those were the days. I definitely didn't support the idea and was always super against it, very publicly so. Don't even both fact checking that, just trust me. Always thought it was a bad idea.
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Now that he's no longer really considered a likely target for Pete Carroll (which is kinda odd?), we can have a good laugh at other teams who are willing to spend a *ton* of money for a player who'll be good for, optimistically, a couple more seasons while being paid top-dollar for way longer than that. A big name player, probably a little past his prime, trying to force his way somewhere warm with a big brand? That's an LA Chargers specialty if I've ever heard of one. So maybe it shouldn't surprise anyone that our beloved (" ") Chargers found themselves in ESPN's mock Ramsey trade exercise this week.
Jalen Ramsey to the Chargers feels like a disaster that absolutely needs to happen
"The Chargers don't need Ramsey, but they have something some other teams don't: the cap room to absorb all of Ramsey's guarantees. The Chargers have a little less than $32 million in 2025 cap space but more than $118 million in 2026 cap space (the most in the NFL, per Roster Management System). Ramsey, who would probably push free agent signing Donte Jackson into a backup role, would raise the defensive ceiling for a team that could easily become a true contender."
"The Chargers don't need Ramsey, but –" is all I need to hear. They're going to do it. They're going to push their free agent signing into a backup role for Ramsey, I'm so sure of it. That has Chargers written all over it. And maybe it'll work for, like, 15 games. But Ramsey's on the hook for checks *well* past 15 games, and if the Chargers want to pay some of that glorious $100+ million for a guy who won't be on their team by the end of his contract, I say we let them. It'll be a fun thought experiment.