Somewhat ironically, the Rams were the only NFL team over the salary cap before this deal yet will now get under it despite handing out $71.2 million guaranteed. That's because the team can spread the money out as opposed to be locked into Ramsey's $13.7 million previous cap number for 2020.
This is the third straight year that the Rams have signed a player to a massive extension right before the season starts, doing so with QB Jared Goff on Sept. 3, 2019, and with defensive tackle Aaron Donald on Sept. 1, 2018. Goff hasn't been worth it, but Donald has.
The 25-year-old Ramsey was the No. 5 overall pick by Jacksonville in the 2016 draft, and his best season was in 2017 when he was first-team All-Pro and helped lead the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game. Ramsey hasn't been quite that good since, but has still reached the Pro Bowl every year since '17 and is a true shutdown corner. Last year in nine games with L.A., he had 33 tackles, four passes defensed and one pick. He has only picked off 10 passes in his career, but teams generally don't throw his way.
Could Ramsey become the second straight defensive back to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year? The Patriots' Stephon Gilmore did in 2019, and Ramsey is a +5000 longer shot at William Hill sportsbook. A cornerback has won it six times overall and the lone back-to-back occasion was in 1993-94 when Pittsburgh's Rod Woodson was followed by San Francisco's Deion Sanders. Donald is the +600 favorite to win it for a third time. He's the only member of the Rams to ever win DPOY.
The Rams christen the new SoFi Stadium in L.A. – with no fans in attendance – on Sunday night vs. the Dallas Cowboys, who are 3-point favorites.
Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.
