The Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Omar Khan started Monday with a bang, trading for Miami Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey. That’s the second high-profile corner addition after signing CB Darius Slay earlier this offseason.
Ramsey is a three-time First-Team All-Pro and a Super Bowl winner with the Los Angeles Rams. But just who is he? Here are five things to know.
Comes From A Family Of Athletes (And He’s Not Just A Football Player)
Jalen Ramsey isn’t the only football player in his family. Father Lamont and older brother Jamal both played football and attended Middle Tennessee State University. They helped influence his pursuit of playing football.
Football wasn’t the only sport Jalen played, either. He was a track and field star in high school, competing in one of the more difficult disciplines – the long jump. But his athleticism showed through, according to his high school track coach, Matt Brown.
“When I had him in the long jump, I pretty much just said, ‘Yep, that’s where your steps are,’” Brown said in an archived interview with Seminoles.com. “‘You’re good.’”
Ramsey was so good that he continued to compete in track and field at Florida State University. He excelled at the long jump, winning both the indoor and outdoor ACC titles in 2015. He was also part of the ACC outdoor champion 4×100 team that year, running the leadoff spot.
First True Freshman Corner To Start At FSU Since A Legend In 1985
Despite growing up as a Miami Hurricane fan, Ramsey committed to Florida State. FSU has a rich tradition of corners, including former Steelers CB Bryant McFadden. But one name stands above the rest: Deion Sanders. Ramsey became the first true freshman at FSU to start a game at corner since Sanders in 1985.
Now, that may not have been the intent for Ramsey to start at corner right away. In fact, Ramsey was slated to start at safety. However, an injury to P.J. Williams thrust Ramsey into the starting corner role for the season opener. That’s a pretty nerve-wracking thing, and Ramsey’s nerves were certainly fraying.
“I remember hitting up my dad, I’m gonna start tomorrow. I was nervous as hell,” Ramsey told YouTube channel Park Stories.
“Why?” His father said in the same video. “You’ve been doing this since you were five. It’s football. You can handle this.”
And handle it he did. He picked off Pitt QB Tom Savage in the first quarter of the season opener. That’s a heck of a way to announce your arrival in college football.
Well-Acquainted With New Teammate DK Metcalf
Before joining the Dolphins in 2023, Ramsey played for the Rams from 2019 through 2022. 2019 just so happened to be Steelers WR DK Metcalf’s rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks. Ramsey and Metcalf faced off twice a year for four seasons. But in Metcalf’s rookie season, the two got heated.
Unsurprisingly, a battle between Ramsey and Metcalf was physical. But it got to the point where Metcalf actually head-butted Ramsey. He got hit with a penalty on the play and a $10,609 fine the following week.
Hopefully for Steelers fans, there will be no similar battles on the practice field this summer during training camp. But you know Ramsey will have things to say.
Elite Trash-Talker From A Young Age
Everyone knows Jalen Ramsey likes to talk trash. Metcalf knows it from personal experience. But Ramsey has had something to say about almost everyone he’s played against. That didn’t start on an NFL field, either.
“He’s always the smallest, but he had the most fight,” his brother Jamal said in that Park Stories video. “We were beating fathers and sons in basketball games. ‘Go get your dad! We beat you and your dad! Go get your dad, your uncle, I don’t care!’ He talks so much, he has to continuously work to back it up.”
Jalen’s brother, Jamal, is four years older than him. That meant Jalen played with kids bigger and older than him a lot growing up. But that didn’t stop Jalen from talking or winning, and that mentality has stuck throughout his NFL career.
Investing For His Family’s Future
But just because Jalen Ramsey is a trash talker on the field (or court, or anywhere competitive) doesn’t mean he isn’t a family man. He has two daughters and wants to ensure he’s taking care of them. He’s signed some big contracts in his NFL time, and he’s putting that money to good use. Ramsey talked with Haute Living’s Editor-in-Chief, Laura Schreffler, back in 2022 and discussed his future financial plans.
“Ramsey hired a dedicated financial team, intent on reaping the most long-term rewards, and became a practical investor. Currently, his investments run the gamut from real estate to valuable timepieces to innovative technology, like the sports nutrition company BioSteel, Oxe Fit, and Rally,” Schreffler wrote.
“There is a purpose to these financial endeavors, clearly, and that is this: ‘My end goal is to create generational wealth so that my daughters and their kids never have to worry; they will be set up,” he says.”
That shows just how mature Jalen Ramsey is as a person, even if he is a football firebrand.
