HEADLINES

Omar Speights

Rams Trade LB Ernest Jones To Titans

August 27th, 2024 at 11:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ernest Jones worked as a linebacker regular for the Rams over the past two seasons, emerging as a potential extension candidate. But the Rams had not planned on making such a move this year. After a run of trade rumors, Jones is moving on.

The Rams are dealing Jones to the Titans, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Tennessee will acquire a proven starter in a contract year, with the Rams losing an experienced option shortly before a season with playoff expectations. This will be a pick-swap trade. The Rams will collect a fifth-round pick from the Titans for Jones and a sixth, per veteran Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky. The exchanged picks are 2026 selections, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz adds.

This comes after Jones delivered an impact performance for the 2023 Rams. The former third-round pick reeled off 145 tackles (14 for loss), 4.5 sacks and six passes defensed. The Rams perennially keep costs low at linebacker, but it is nevertheless interesting they are willing to move on from a productive young defender.

Pro Football Focus rated Jones 13th among off-ball ‘backers last season, viewing the Rams starter as strong as a run defender and a blitzer while lacking in coverage. Jones started all 15 games he played last season and lined up alongside Bobby Wagner for most of the 2022 season. The Rams moved on from Wagner after one year, and they will now be tasked with replacing Jones days before a season.

This swiftly developing storyline escalated this week, when the Rams gave Jones’ camp permission to seek a trade. Jones, 24, then made it clear he did not request to be moved. The Rams communicated with teams Monday, and a deal has come to pass. This will be an interesting addition to a Titans team that lost Azeez Al-Shaair in free agency. That came a year after David Long moved on (to the Dolphins). Jones soon stands to be a key piece in Dennard Wilson‘s defense.

Tennessee has now imported two Los Angeles-based starters this year, having already brought in ex-Chargers first-rounder Kenneth Murray. The team also rosters Jack Gibbens, a former UDFA who started 13 games last season. PFF ranked Gibbens 30th among ILBs last season; he made 95 tackles in 14 games. The Titans gave Murray a two-year, $15.5MM deal but structured the contract to make it fairly easy to move on after one season. With Jones in a contract year, the Titans may have some short-term solutions on their defensive second level. This move also comes after the Titans lost Chance Campbell to an ACL tear.

Although the Rams make a habit of generating solid play from lower-level investments, this does appear a bit of a gamble. Unlike when L.A. cut Wagner, it is coming off a postseason berth. Jones led Rams linebackers (by far) with 988 defensive snaps last season; Christian Rozeboom was second (with 579). PFF rated Rozeboom, a former UDFA, 79th at the position in 2023. Another undrafted player, rookie Omar Speights, has impressed to the point he will make Los Angeles’ roster, with The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue connecting this and a willingness to move on from Jones (subscription required).

The Titans will have exclusive negotiating rights with Jones until March, leaving them time to evaluate this fit. The Rams were not eyeing a 2024 deal with Jones, but a team that gave up at least one to-be-determined asset for him may be more inclined to discuss an extension.

Rams Have Communicated With Teams Over Ernest Jones Trade

August 26th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Adam La Rose

It was learned on Sunday that Rams linebacker Ernest Jones‘ camp has been given permission to find a trade partner. The pending free agent did not ask to be moved, something head coach Sean McVay expanded on further when speaking to the media on Monday.

“We never said that he requested a trade. We’ve had communication with his representation and I’m going to leave that in house for now,” McVay confirmed (via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith). “We’re just working through some different things and we’re just going to take it a day at a time… We had communication with his representation, there’s been some dialogue with teams, and that’s where it’s at.”

Teams regularly allow the agents of extension-eligible players to explore the market when negotiations stall out. Jones is a key component of the Rams’ defense, though, so McVay’s admission that trade talks with outside teams have already taken place is noteworthy. One year remains on the 24-year-old’s rookie contract, and any interested parties would likely have an extension worked out upon acquiring him.

Jones – whom The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue notes was absent from Monday’s practice (subscription required) – has upped his market value considerably given his play over the course of his three seasons in the league. The former third-rounder has taken on an increased workload each year, operating as a full-time starter and team captain in 2023. Jones racked up 145 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, making him a logical extension candidate.

General manager Les Snead made it clear in March, however, that no long-term deal would be worked out during the 2024 offseason. Rodrigue’s latest update on the matter states rather definitively that Jones will be play out the final year of his deal if he is to remain in Los Angeles for at least one more year. A trade taking place between now and Week 1 would, of course, change that financial outlook.

As Rodrigue adds, undrafted rookie Omar Speights has impressed this offseason, and Snead confirmed he will make Los Angeles’ opening roster. The emergence of at least a depth LB contributor could make Jones easier to move from the Rams’ perspective, but the market he generates on a trade and/or an accompanying extension will remain worth watching closely.

Rams Grant LB Ernest Jones Permission To Seek Trade

August 25th, 2024 at 3:52pm CST by Rory Parks

3:52pm: While Jones could find himself on the move, he made it clear via an X post that he never requested a trade. It will be interesting to see how much of a market develops in the coming days and whether or not any offers reach a level where Los Angeles seriously considers a deal.

9:21am: The Rams have given linebacker Ernest Jones permission to seek a trade, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Jones is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

Jones’ status as an extension candidate this offseason has been somewhat unclear. Back in March, we heard that Jones was on the club’s extension radar, but GM Les Snead said just a few days later that he would not authorize a new deal for the talented defender in 2024.

Earlier this month, however, Fowler himself reported that Jones is indeed a candidate for a second contract from the Rams, Los Angeles’ general unwillingness to pay big money to an off-ball LB notwithstanding. Fowler’s report from today notes that player and team have discussed an extension but have made no progress on that front. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic adds that the Rams broke off negotiations in the spring (subscription required).

Regardless of when contract talks took place and when they broke down, the upshot is that Snead & Co. are evidently prepared to adhere to their standard operating proecudure when it comes to off-ball ‘backers and let Jones seek his second NFL deal elsewhere. And, considering Jones’ performance to date, there could be a number of clubs interested in his services.

In 2023, Jones recorded 145 tackles and 4.5 sacks across 15 games (all starts) while enjoying a 93% snap share. That production is not a mere byproduct of heavy volume, as the South Carolina alum graded out as the 13th-best linebacker in the league out of 82 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics. Of his 145 tackles, 14 of them were behind the line of scrimmage.

Jones, 24, is also Los Angeles’ defensive signal-caller, so the club would need to get someone else to fill that role if a trade is consummated. According to Rodrigue, the Rams’ willingness to move Jones may be at least partially informed by the emergence of UDFA rookie Omar Speights, whom Snead said will make the team. If Snead has decided that a Jones extension is too expensive for the Rams, he may believe that recovering some draft capital for him now while getting an extended look at Speights is more valuable than retaining Jones for one more season.

However, given Jones’ talent and obvious importance to the Rams’ defense, it would seemingly take a rather strong trade offer to pry him away from a club that qualified for the playoffs last year and is eyeing another postseason run in 2024. Perhaps this is a case of a GM allowing other teams to establish a player’s market before extending an offer of his own — after all, interested clubs would surely want to have a multiyear deal in place with Jones before pulling the trigger on a trade — but in any event, Rodrigue says the situation is fluid. In other words, neither a trade nor an extension is imminent.

Rams Sign 16 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2024 at 8:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams had a number of late-round picks last weekend, with the organization adding six rookies on the final day of the draft. The team has added even more young depth to the roster, as the organization announced the signing of 16 undrafted free agents:

After adding one wide receiver in the draft (Jordan Whittington in the sixth), the Rams have added three more rookies at the position. JJ Laap had a standout career at DIII Cortland, finishing with more than 3,000 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns. Drake Stoops didn’t truly break out until this past season at Oklahoma, when he basically doubled his career stats by finishing with 84 catches for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sam Wiglusz put himself on the NFL radar after transferring from Ohio State to Ohio in 2022. In two seasons with the Bobcats, Wiglusz hauled in 129 catches for 1,537 yards and 14 touchdowns.

After drafting one defensive back in the draft (Kamren Kinchens in the third round), the team added five more rookies to the secondary via free agency. Jaylen McCollough had a strong five-year career at Tennessee, including a 2023 campaign where he 58 tackles and three interceptions. Kenny Logan Jr. also spent his entire college career at one school, collecting 383 tackles and six interceptions in 59 games at Kansas.