Jalen Ramsey leaves Jaguars for the birth of his child

Yet another twist and turn in the constant chess match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey has left the team for the birth of his second child. There is no known date of his return.

The news comes as Ramsey’s week has been full of news off the football field. He did not practice on Monday due to illness, head coach Doug Marrone stated Monday morning. Following the team’s official day off, he did not practice on Wednesday for what team officials called a back injury.

The notification of Ramsey leaving for Tennessee to be with his family was given Wednesday evening.

"“Months ago in the offseason, Jalen notified me that he was expecting the birth of his second child in late September,” Marrone said in a statement released by the Jaguars.More from Jacksonville Jaguars NewsJacksonville Jaguars fortify secondary in 4-round 2023 Post-Combine NFL Mock DraftJacksonville Jaguars RT Jawaan Taylor expected to have massive market in 2023 NFL Free AgencyRobert Tonyan could be perfect complement to Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram in 2023 NFL Free Agency5 Jacksonville Jaguars dream targets in 2023 NFL Free Agency3 potential trade partners for Jacksonville Jaguars CB Shaquill Griffin“We spoke about this recently and again today after practice and decided that it was best for Jalen to fly to Nashville tonight after meetings to be with his family during the birth of their daughter. He will return to the team when he’s ready, and we will provide an update at that time.”"

The announcement from Marrone was then responded to by Ramsey’s agent, David Mulugheta, who thanked the coach for understanding the situation.

The Jaguars and Ramsey appear to be at a standoff regarding the former first-round pick’s demand to be traded after the 13-12 loss to the Houston Texans after Week 2 of the NFL season. Ramsey has been an outspoken and controversial player for the Jaguars since he was drafted in 2016 out of FSU.

The latest news of Ramsey being injured was described by Marrone as “tightness” which is something he and other players have dealt with.

"“It’s normal; his back has gotten tight before,” Marrone said when he met with the media on Wednesday. “My back’s tight, a couple of guys’ backs are tight. A couple of guys have hamstrings. Everyone gets this stuff.”"

It is believed by some national media members, including Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, that Thursday night might have been the final time Ramsey plays in a Jaguars jersey. Jaguars owner Shad Khan does not want to grant Ramsey’s trade request, according to league sources and wants to pay his star player to be the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

A few things would have to happen with the team’s salary cap to make that happen.

"“Ramsey played against Tennessee last Thursday but did not practice Monday because of an illness. He also missed Wednesday’s practice with a back injury, which created its own drama,” DiRocco wrote. “Three hours after Marrone said he didn’t know when Ramsey suffered the injury, the team released a statement saying Ramsey actually did report back soreness to the team’s medical staff during the fourth quarter of the game against the Titans.”"

Per Phillip Heilman of The Athletic, there is no language in the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) that puts a timetable on how long a player can be out for paternity leave.