One of the top guards in the 2024 free agent class is coming off the market. Jonah Jackson has agreed to terms on a three-year, $51MM deal with the Rams, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The pact includes $34MM in guaranteed money.
The Rams are betting big at guard, giving Jackson this money after authorizing a three-year, $48MM payment for Kevin Dotson. With Matthew Stafford‘s 2022 injuries submarining the Rams’ Super Bowl title defense two years ago, they will do more to protect him this coming season.
This move may well move Steve Avila off his guard spot, but the 2023 second-round pick has experience at center. TCU deployed Avila at center during his 2021 junior season. He also saw time there as a sophomore. The Rams look to be designing a Jackson-Avila-Dotson interior. This move probably means 2023 starting center Coleman Shelton will be out of the picture.
While guard represented one of this free agent class’ deepest positions, it is interesting one team will nab two of the top players here. This combination will be the most costly guard duo in NFL history, topping that of the Browns’ Joel Bitonio–Wyatt Teller tandem, which comprises just more than $30MM in combined AAV. The Rams are at $33MM between the Dotson and Jackson signings.
The Lions have Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow on upper-crust accords, with Penei Sewell squarely on the extension radar. With Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown payments coming as well, Detroit had been expected to pass on extending a player it developed from the third round.
Jackson has started all 57 games he has played as a pro. He has been a better run blocker compared to his pass-pro work, which would bode well for a Rams team that saw Kyren Williams take off during his second season. This is a surprising commitment to the guard position, but the team still has Alaric Jackson in the RFA pay window and Rob Havenstein on an affordable deal. If the Rams keep that setup intact for 2024, this is an affordable scenario — even around Stafford’s $40MM-AAV contract. But choices will need to be made come 2025.
Good lord. I like the player when he’s healthy, but top ten guard money for a guy coming off a dicey year with trouble staying healthy seems *really* rich.
That’s just too much money for a guy that has never been able to stay healthy.
Can understand why Holmes passed up re-signing JJ… $51M just too rich of a deal for the Lions to swallow