Player: CB Jalen Ramsey
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Just days after his semi-triumphant return, Jalen Ramsey struggled against arguably the game’s best wide receiver in Ja’Marr Chase. Although one can question some of the officiating, he did not look like the All-Pro he’s meant to be. Everybody has bad days, but the Steelers acquired him to win them games like this.
The Steelers secondary straight up did not have a good time—or a good game—against the Bengals last night. Whether that was Jalen Ramsey or Darius Slay or Joey Porter Jr., nobody came out looking good. Sure, each of them made a play or two, but Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins made more. And those guys made the last plays that won the game.
Now, I can’t go without mentioning that the touchdown Ja’Marr Chase scored against Jalen Ramsey should not have counted. At best, it should have resulted in offsetting pass interference penalties. In fact, it’s galling that the officials flagged Ramsey but not Chase. Chase simply would not have scored without pushing off of Ramsey at near-full extension. They should have either flagged both players or flagged neither, but instead they made the worst possible call.
That doesn’t change the reality that Ramsey did not have a good game altogether. He did have one nice pass defensed near the goal line, but otherwise, he looked pedestrian. He gave up the big play to Tee Higgins late that essentially won the Bengals the game. And he did have another defensive pass interference penalty that was all on him.
The Steelers traded for Jalen Ramsey specifically to match up against guys like Ja’Marr Chase. In his first test against his most important responsibility in the Black and Gold, he failed. Ramsey might have outsacked Myles Garrett, but that’s not why he’s here. He came up short, and so the Steelers collectively came up short. That doesn’t mean he won’t redeem himself, but this morning, he is part of the problem.
With regular season underway and the roster in place, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
After a long offseason, we finally know what this Steelers team will look like for the 2025 season. The dust is long settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re into the real thing. What final moves might the team make, if any? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
