Jalen Ramsey must be a confused man right now. Just a few days ago, when the Los Angeles Rams waived cornerback Derion Kendrick, Ramsey’s trade rumors started flowing in from every direction. The general sentiment around the Rams and the Dolphins camps was that Jalen’s trade to Los Angeles was almost a done deal. Both Jalen and Rams Head Coach Sean McVay were pretty confident, given that the Rams had managed to open up some cap space. But after a recent development, all plans seem to have fallen apart, shocking everyone.

The Rams have made quite the U-turn on Tuesday. As revealed on their official X handle, they have re-signed cornerback Derion Kendrick just days after waiving him, after Kendrick cleared the waivers. This comes as a shock to the Rams’ Head Coach McVay, who was preparing for an offer for Jalen Ramsey, the Dolphins‘ cornerback. They were also in a good financial position to sign Jalen, who is worth around $21 million. Ramsey had put on a decent show last season by making 60 tackles and 1 sack in the 17 games he played. And by returning to the Rams after two seasons, he would be strengthening their cornerback position and giving it a bit more depth.

Meanwhile, Kendrick re-signing with the Rams comes as a surprise because he hasn’t been very effective yet. He missed the entirety of last season because of an ACL injury that he suffered in training camp. Prior to that, he had two less-than-ordinary seasons after he was drafted in 2022 as a sixth-round pick. In the two seasons that he played with them, Kendrick only managed to play 32 games and make a total of 92 tackles while failing to make even one sack.

The Rams’ current cornerback roster includes veterans like Ahkello Witherspoon and Darious Williams, as well as youngsters such as Cobie Durant, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., and Josh Wallace. While it’s not a bad cornerback lineup as such, the inclusion of Kendrick instead of Ramsey will not be a bonus for them. Rather, they would go in with a similar defense, which performed pretty well last season and helped the team finish the regular season with a 10-7 record and even won the NFL Wild Card Round before ultimately losing to the Eagles in the division game.

While the Rams may have gone back to the status quo by signing Kendrick, the HC, though disheartened, will still be wishing for a miracle. A miracle that somehow helps him get Jalen Ramsey, a player he’s been wanting for quite some time now.

Sean McVay will still hope to get Jalen Ramsey

It was a roller coaster of a week for Sean McVay and Rams fans. With the waiving of Derion Kendrick, there was a sense of belief that Jalen Ramsey would have a homecoming in Los Angeles. But after his re-signing, many have lost their hopes. However, for Sean McVay, this shouldn’t make much difference. After all, he was supposedly planning the trade even when they did not have money. Now that the Rams are back in their original situation, there’s a lingering feeling that McVay will still be crossing his fingers.

“He’s a great player. We know him very well. We know him intimately. You would certainly never rule out the possibility of that, but like Les articulated, our focus and concentration are on this week’s upcoming draft,” McVay had earlier said while talking about the possibility of bringing Ramsey back.

He had also in the past talked about how complex a deal would be with the Dolphins. “And so there are a lot of layers when you’re talking about a player of his caliber – ‘All right, with regards to the contract, the compensation that they would be looking for in exchange for receiving a player of his magnitude,’” McVay said on Mad Dog Sports Radio in May. This was at a time when Kendrick was still in the squad.

While we don’t know if McVay had a call in the re-signing of Kendrick, or if this was his plan the entire time. Considering that we don’t know the terms or the worth of Kendrick’s new contract. We can only assume that the Rams would have probably done it in such a way that both these players are a part of the roster by the start of the season. And if so, this will be a very clever move by McVay and the Rams.