JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trash talking is part of the game plan for Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. From the first snap of Sunday’s game against Cincinnati, Ramsey had one goal - get in the head of Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.
By the end of the first half, Green clearly had enough as he attacked Ramsey from behind. After a couple of punches were thrown by Green both players were ejected from the game. On Wednesday Ramsey explained how things got to that level from his perspective.
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“You’ll know how I play. I lock receivers down physically and then mentally I get in their mind, get under their skin. I talk my talk. There’s rumors out there I said some personal stuff. I’m going to let you’ll know that’s not true. Yes I get out there and talk stuff but I don’t go personal. I don’t talk about anybody’s wife or kid or their family. I don’t do that.”
This was the second time in Ramsey’s career that he’d been ejected from a game. Green on the other hand had never displayed this type of aggressiveness over his seven years in the NFL.
“I told him almost every play that he was weak and that he was soft,” said Ramsey. “Those are facts. He just couldn't’t handle the truth. Those are facts. I told him that his time is almost up. I told him that it was easy, which it was. He had one catch for six yards. I was just out there spitting facts to him and he got mad.”
For the last season and a half, Ramsey has prided himself on being one of the most physical cornerbacks in the league. He said that he pushed Green on every single snap and intended to get in his head. It was that final push that led to Green retaliating.
“It wasn’t a late push it was before the whistle,” said Ramsey. “I wasn’t going to get flagged for that push. It was during the play, no flag came out until he grabbed me. You guys can go back and look at the tape. It wasn’t dirty, it wasn’t a cheap shot. It wasn’t any of that.”
It caught Ramsey by surprise that he was ejected in addition to Green. He didn’t exactly dispel the rumor that he went looking for Green in the hallway after leaving the field. Ramsey did however shed light on the lack of an explanation he got from the referees.
“It was mixed signals from different refs,” said Ramsey. “I went up to one of the refs and I asked him why I’m getting ejected. I asked him straight up. He said to be honest Jalen I don’t know. That’s exactly what he said quote for quote.”
Despite only being in the NFL for a year and a half, Ramsey has already gained a reputation as one of the top players in the league at his position. The battle against Green didn't even last a full half and that’s fine with Ramsey.
“That’s the quickest way off of Ramsey Island," said the Jaguars cornerback. “He had one catch for six yards. If I was a receiver and I had to line up against me I would figure out the easiest route to get off too. He figured it out.”