The Pittsburgh Steelers acquiring Jalen Ramsey was far from shocking, given the offseason full of rumors that connected them to the former Miami Dolphins cornerback. But nobody, including franchise stalwart Cam Heyward, expected Minkah Fitzpatrick to go the other way in the deal.
"The way it came out, I thought we were bringing Jalen in for just a pick, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, hell yeah. I love this,'" Heyward said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. "And then I found out it's a trade with Minkah, and I'm like, 'Damn, you're taking away a guy that has really meant a lot to our group.' So I was a little bit bummed about it."
Heyward, like most Steelers fans, was pumped, thinking that the team had acquired Ramsey just for a draft pick. When it was later revealed that Fitzpatrick was headed to the Dolphins, his opinion immediately changed. It's hard to blame him.
Steelers fans can relate to Cam Heyward's reaction to Jalen Ramsey trade
Heyward had good reason to react the way he did, because trades like the Ramsey deal just don't happen much in the NFL. I mean, how many player-for-player deals have we seen in recent memory? Teams are almost always either trying to trade or acquire a player without creating another hole. The Steelers traded a starter for another starter.
Ramsey, even at 30 years old, remains a high-end cornerback, so the Steelers did well to acquire him. But as Heyward noted, Fitzpatrick was a big part of Pittsburgh's defense for a while. He hasn't quite performed at a superstar level in the past couple of years, but stilll: He was a team captain for a reason.
While it stung to lose Fitzpatrick, Heyward made it clear that he's excited to play with Ramsey.
"But you look at what Jalen brings to the table, there's no [shortage] of talent there. Jalen is a ball-hawking DB that can play corner. He can play slot. He can play safety. His versatility makes him very, very great in our defense. Week in and week out, you look at him, and he's taking receivers out of the equation. I loved looking at those battles of him and DK (Metcalf) all those years ago. It's nice to have both of those guys on our sideline now, and now they can go out and wreak a lotta havoc on both sides of the ball."
This deal might come back to haunt the Steelers in a couple of years, as Fitzpatrick is the youngest player involved in the trade, but the Steelers, with only one guaranteed year of Aaron Rodgers and a desperate need to finally win a playoff game, are in win-now mode. Ramsey (and tight end Jonnu Smith, who also came over from Miami) might give the Steelers a better shot to win now, and Heyward knows that.
While he's made peace with the deal and is excited to play with Ramsey, it makes sense that he's a little torn. It'll be interesting to see how the trade ages.