Jalen Ramsey, agent fire back at Tom Coughlin's voluntary workout criticism
Jalen Ramsey isn’t participating in voluntary workouts with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tom Coughlin is very much not happy about that. But that doesn’t mean Ramsey is sitting on his couch at home, eating Doritos, playing video games, and watching a lot of daytime TV.
Ramsey is training in Nashville
According to Ramsey’s agent David Mulugheta, the cornerback is absorbed in his own offseason workout plan.
To be clear, Jalen Ramsey is exactly where Jalen should be during his off season. He’s spending time with his young daughter & family while training in his hometown of Nashville. In addition the Jags are fully aware of why he is not taking part in the voluntary off season program
— David Mulugheta (@DavidMulugheta) April 19, 2019
Ramsey confirmed his agent’s defense.
“Fully aware” & “voluntary” meaning I don’t HAVE to be there BUT they know the EXACT REASONS I am not. My teammates know it’s ALL love & know I’ll be ready when it’s time! 💯 https://t.co/NASgnu6egT
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) April 19, 2019
Ramsey is also taking advantage of the offseason by spending time with his family. What else is the offseason for, right?
Washington Redskins safety Landon Collins saw an opportunity to recruit another Pro Bowl defender to the team with a shout-out to one of hip-hop’s most infamous moments.
Ramsey appears to have appreciated the invitation.
😂😂😭😭 love big brudda ✊🏾 https://t.co/4OmHlS1K6M
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) April 19, 2019
Tom Coughlin isn’t happy about Ramsey’s absence
According to Coughlin, the Jags’ VP of football operations, the offseason is for attending voluntary workouts. He may or may not know why Ramsey is staying in Nashville, but he’s not happy about it.
Coughlin told reporters on Thursday that he believed that Ramsey (and linebacker Telvin Smith, the only other absent player) should be at voluntary workouts, saying “Quite frankly, all of our players should be here.”
Coughlin’s comments are likely what spurred Mulugheta to tweet an update about Ramsey’s offseason, to assure everyone that Ramsey is actively training and working toward the start of the season.
The NFLPA responds
Coughlin’s comments also spurred a response from the NFL Players Association. NFLPA president Eric Winston was none too happy that Coughlin is essentially trying to make voluntary workouts a requirement.
Since there seems to some confusion over what a voluntary workout actually means...#NFLPA President @ericwinston 🗣 pic.twitter.com/QK1QFAj9MY
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) April 18, 2019
Mulugheta tweeted that the Jaguars are “fully aware” of why Ramsey has elected to stay home and follow his own workout plan. But the reason doesn’t really matter, because the workouts are voluntary. Ramsey is under no obligation to go, and neither is any other player on any NFL team.
Coughlin’s comment may have violated the NFL-NFLPA’s collective bargaining agreement, which is what requires those workouts to be voluntary. If he wants them to be mandatory, he can bring it up during negotiations for the next CBA in 2021. But considering that the words “work stoppage” have already been mentioned, there will probably be bigger fish to fry than offseason workouts.
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