Rams linebacker and defensive captain Ernest Jones IV has been granted permission to seek a trade, a source confirmed on Sunday.
Jones is entering the final season of his rookie deal. In January, general manager Les Snead indicated the Rams were interested in discussing a contract extension with Jones. But Jones told SCNG last month that those talks never progressed very far and he seemed at peace with entering a contract year without a new deal.
“I know that the work that I’ve put in these past three years, I know I’m worthy of something regardless what the worth may be,” Jones said in July. “I just want to put together a great year. I love to be in L.A., I really want to be here. This is truly where I want to keep my family at, grow my family here. But I also know that there’s a business side of it too that I can’t truly control. We’ll see. Hopefully we can get something done and I can be here for years to come. … I show them another year and I put on another year better than before, that just means that the price goes up.”
Jones set a Rams single-season record with 145 tackles in 2023 while also stepping up as a leader, wearing the green dot and relaying plays from the coaching staff to the rest of the defense on the field. With the retirement of Aaron Donald and the loss of Jordan Fuller in free agency, Jones was expected to be relied upon heavily in Chris Shula’s first year as defensive coordinator.
But the Rams have been hesitant about handing out big contracts to defensive players the last two offseasons, preferring to spend their money on the offensive side of the ball. And Jones has dealt with a knee injury this offseason and preseason that dated back to last year, though he said he cut his weight from 250 to 234 this offseason to prevent further issues.
Should Jones find a new team prior to the start of the regular season, the Rams would have to rely on a group of former undrafted free agents at inside linebacker with varying levels of experience in the NFL. Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder were both productive players for the Rams last season.
Jake Hummel and rookie Omar Speights both had strong preseasons, with Snead saying on Saturday’s preseason broadcast that Speights has earned a spot in the Rams’ 48-man game-day roster, not just the weekly 53-man.
“We didn’t want to subject him to a possible injury because we could be relying on him in Sunday Night Football [against the Lions in Week 1],” Snead told ABC.
