DK Metcalf Trade Collapse Forces Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh to Poach Top Rams Target

This spring, the Chargers aggressively pursued DK Metcalf. Steven Bisig of Sports Illustrated flagged them as a top contender from the jump, highlighting Jim Harbaugh’s history of aggressively going after WRs like Metcalf. The Chargers looked primed to land the receiver. Multiple reports suggested L.A. was Metcalf’s preferred trade destination. Seattle, however, stood firm on a high asking price, and Pittsburgh swooped in. On March 13, the Seahawks shook the league, sending Metcalf to the Steelers in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick (No. 52) plus a 2025 seventh-round swap. Then came the twist.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted the Chargers are back in the mix, this time for Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey remains a Dolphin, but with the financial leverage shifting, Schefter reports both L.A. teams, the Chargers and Rams, are serious suitors. SI’s Matthew Schmidt adds, “The price tag is absurd,” but so is the cap flexibility, over $25 million in 2025 space, and only one major extension looming .

Jalen Ramsey carries a hefty contract, a three-year, $72.3 million extension signed in 2024. He’s due $25.1 million in 2025, with $21.1 million already owed if traded (Dolphins paid the $4 million bonus). At the time of the extension, Miami made him the highest-paid cornerback and wanted to bet on him. But that bet is eating them alive under the cap.

If not the money, Jim Harbaugh could use Derwin James to secure Ramsey. Bolts radio play-by-play announcer Matt ‘Money’ Smith & host Chris Hayre discussed the trade possibility on June 28. Smith noted, “It feels like he’s a little more effective in the role that Derwin plays right now. So, if the, you know, if the number’s right, if the compensation’s right, then I’m sure they’d be interested.”

Jalen Ramsey and Derwin James go back to their college days at Florida State. Ramsey was a junior in 2015 when James stepped on campus as a freshman. “Jalen Ramsey is like my brother,” James said in 2018, thanking him for guiding him through the pre-draft process and teaching him to “watch film” like a pro. But Jim Harbaugh has to move fast. Another LA Franchise is behind him.

Jim Harbaugh faces competition from Sean McVay

Amid a flurry of speculation, all eyes have turned west, toward a potential reunion with Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. Not just for nostalgia, but for need. Since trading Ramsey to Miami in March 2023, the Rams’ cornerback room has been in patchwork mode.

Their top cover man in 2024, Ahkello Witherspoon, ranked just 53rd out of 116 qualified corners, per Pro Football Focus, surrendering a passer rating over 100. Jalen Ramsey? Still elite, 10th overall in PFF’s grading and a QB rating allowed of just 93.5. Even at 31, his game remains polished, physical, and decisive. It’s the reason he is their top target, and Jim Harbaugh is also pursuing him.

Last month, during the SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio, Rams HC Sean McVay didn’t play coy. “He is a total stud,” the coach said. “Special competitor, great person, great father.” That’s not surface-level praise. Ramsey helped anchor a Super Bowl-winning defense and earned consecutive All-Pro nods during his Rams tenure.

However, things move fast in the league. ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted the Chargers, Steelers, and even a longshot Cowboys bid could enter the mix. This isn’t just about a shutdown corner. This is about turf, pride, and legacy. Two of the NFL’s most compelling minds, Jim Harbaugh and Sean McVay, are circling the same prize.

Both the Chargers and Rams want him. Only one gets him. And if this plays out the way it’s trending, the battle for Ramsey could be the first major flex in an all-L.A. coaching cold war.