He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft.

Ramsey was also a member of the New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota Vikings.

He attended Ruston High School, where he was a two-year starter quarterback, and was also state champion in the javelin throw.

His career totals at Tulane were surpassed only (in various individual statistics, none overall) by Shaun King, Mike McKay, Roch Hontas, and Terrence Jones.

Ramsey was selected 32nd overall in the 2002 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins, to replace Tony Banks as quarterback.

In 2004, Joe Gibbs returned to coach the team after a prolonged absence; he originally traded for Mark Brunell as the starting quarterback (and then quickly signed him to a long term extension) but replaced him with Ramsey in November.

Ramsey signed a one-year contract with the Tennessee Titans on April 3, 2009, serving as the third quarterback on the depth chart after Kerry Collins and Vince Young.

On September 3, Ramsey was released as part of final cuts before the start of the 2010 NFL season, with Chase Daniel having won the backup spot.

Due to the Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback injury problems in early 2010, Ramsey was brought on as a potential temporary backup for the team.