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Jalen Ramsey's historic achievement against the Browns proves the Steelers made the right decision with Minkah Fitzpatrick
Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith this summer, many were shocked. But not because of who was coming to Pittsburgh, rather, who was leaving. That was former Pro Bowl and All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is now with the Miami Dolphins.

At first glance, it felt like a lateral move. Why give up a star defensive back to bring in another when the whole purpose was to build upon the defense? Well, the vision for Ramsey within the Steelers' defense was built on versatility.

And nothing proved that more than Ramsey's two sacks on Sunday, a first for what is shaping up to be a Hall of Fame career.

Jalen Ramsey records the first multi-sack game of his career in a win over the Browns

"I'm going to probably tell my kids about this. I played in a game with T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, and I had two sacks. That's crazy," Ramsey told Steelers media regarding the historic achievement via Brooke Pryor of ESPN on X (Twitter).

What's crazy is how well Ramsey has performed with everything the Steelers have thrown at him. He has aligned at free safety in base personnel, slot corner in the nickel, and even played his traditional outside corner role in certain matchups or when injuries have occurred. He has excelled at all of them. Ramsey has a negative EPA per play (negative is good on defense) at slot corner, free safety, and even linebacker.

He now has an interception, multiple pass breakups, plenty of tackles, and multiple tackles for loss and sacks. He's been a Swiss Army Knife that Mike Tomlin can't get enough of.

"We certainly wanted to make sure that he could impact the game," answered Mike Tomlin when asked if the Steelers limited Ramsey a bit after his hamstring injury. "I cannot say enough about Jalen Ramsey, guys. This guy plays outside corner, he plays nickel, he plays free safety, he is exactly what we hoped he would be, and certainly he was significant today."

The Steelers incurred multiple injuries following the Browns game, specifically within their secondary. Even Ramsey was injured early on in Sunday's game. But as the team makes its push deeper into AFC North play against a Cincinnati Bengals squad desperate at quarterback, they will need more of Ramsey on a short week.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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