The Standard (St. Catharines)

Ramsey wants to stay with Jags

- DOUG FERGUSON

JACKSONVIL­LE, FLA. — Regardless of his rant on social media, Jalen Ramsey would love to spend his career with the Jacksonvil­le Jaguars.

And the chatty cornerback has a video game to prove it.

“I play Madden all the time. I play with the Jags,” Ramsey said Thursday. “I don’t trade myself. I don’t make any trades on the team. I play with the Jags. I lose a couple times, but I bounce back. I always bounce back. But I play with the Jags.”

Frustratio­n is starting to surface for the Jaguars (3-6), who bolstered big hopes from reaching the AFC title game last year by starting 3-1.

They haven’t won since then, and their fifth straight loss last week to the Indianapol­is Colts was marked by missed assignment­s and blown coverages.

At least one of them belonged to Ramsey, the Pro Bowl cornerback who was supposed to drop in coverage and instead played man defence as tight end Eric Ebron ran free for a 53-yard touchdown catch.

The following morning, Ramsey took to Twitter to vent about the negative blowback in Jacksonvil­le.

“When I’m gone from here, y’all gone miss me. I ain’t even trippin,” it said.

Ramsey, a first-round pick in 2016, still has another year on his contract with an option that would take him through 2020. And he hopes it would go longer than that.

“I’ve said multiple times ... that I want to play with one team my whole career,” Ramsey said.

He also hasn’t removed the tweet or backed away from it.

Pressed to explain what he meant, Ramsey said it was directed to the “fake fans.”

“We bring some good things,” he said.

“And yeah, we slipped up here recently, not executed and played like we know we can. But like, whoever — the fake fans, y’all, whoever — if y’all want to jump ship, then it is what it is. But y’all going to miss us when we either gone or when stuff (is) back popping. We don’t want y’all no more.”

The Jaguars are on the verge of popping themselves out of any shot at the post-season, trailing Houston by three games in the AFC South, winless since Sept. 30. Next up are the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose fifth straight victory was a 55-21 dismantlin­g of the Carolina Panthers a week ago Thursday night.

Ramsey, in an interview with GQ last year, said he was more impressed with receiver Antonio Brown than quarterbac­k Ben Roethlisbe­rger, who he referred to as “decent at best.”

 ?? DARRON CUMMINGS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Jacksonvil­le’s Jalen Ramsey has another year on his contract with an option that would take him through 2020.
DARRON CUMMINGS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jacksonvil­le’s Jalen Ramsey has another year on his contract with an option that would take him through 2020.

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