Jalen Ramsey says NFL should worry more about player safety, less about uniform infractions

Los Angeles Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey thinks the NFL needs to get its priorities straight when it comes to safety and player discipline.

Ramsey was asked about the Miami Dolphins’ handling of Tua Tagovailoa on Saturday, and he turned the question into a discussion about fines and league priorities. Ramsey said he had been fined every week so far in 2022 for a uniform violation, once for wearing knee pads that did not cover his knees and twice for having the wrong socks on.

“Player safety should be one of the most important things to talk about,” Ramsey said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “It should probably be talked about more. And then s— like getting fined for socks … or s— like getting fined for tights or BS or anything like that. … That needs to not be talked about as much.

“That’s the stuff that they need to put an emphasis [on]. Not freaking, oh his socks are too high or his socks are too low or something like that. That’s so lame. I’m so beyond that.”

Few would argue that Ramsey is wrong about this. The NFL is notoriously strict when it comes to uniform violations, and sometimes the things players are fined for are remarkably nitpicky.

On the other hand, some will likely take issue with Ramsey turning a question about something as serious as Tagovailoa’s situation into a treatise on his own fines, even if his intentions may have been good.