Jaguars' Ramsey, Fowler back on team
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive end Dante Fowler are back from suspension, but neither is talking about what got them banned for a week or how they spent their time away.
They were not available during an open locker room session Monday. The team said both players will answer questions following Jacksonville’s preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night.
“They’re back and we’re ready to go,” coach Doug Marrone said.
Marrone declined to say whether he met with the two suspended players Monday morning.
“I meet with a lot of players. I really do,” Marrone said. “I meet with players all the time. This is the same thing. I meet with them. I talk to them. It’s the same way. I’m going to keep those conversations private and keep moving along.”
Marrone suspended Ramsey and Fowler for violating team rules and conduct unbecoming a Jaguars football player. Neither traveled to Minnesota for two days of joint practices with the Vikings and a preseason game.
Fowler was involved in several fights on Aug. 12, including one after practice with fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue in which they had to be separated repeatedly. No punches were thrown.
Ramsey was one of several teammates in the middle of it. He shouted profanities at media members who captured the altercation on video and later took to Twitter to threaten reporters with “war” for releasing the video.
Fowler and Ramsey rejoined teammates in meetings and practice Monday.
“You just got back to business as usual like they never left because they never did leave,” defensive tackle Malik Jackson said.
Ramsey made headlines again three days later in an interview with GQ magazine by saying calling Buffalo Bills rookie Josh Allen “trash” and saying Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was “overrated.”
Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and Eli Manning of the New York Giants also got sub-par reviews. Ramsey called Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger “decent at best.”
“If you can back it up, you can say whatever you want as long as it’s respectful and coach Marrone doesn’t care,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, he’s a top-rated player so if you want to go out there and talk about somebody or talk to somebody, talk about every quarterback in the league, then go ahead. But I think that he has the skills to back it up.”
