Heading into the 2024 NFL season, the vibes surrounding the Los Angeles Rams are high as they have hopes of contending for another Super Bowl.
The organization has a lot of young talent that they have been developing in hopes of taking another step forward this season.
With Aaron Donald no longer playing though, other guys will need to step up from a leadership perspective, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
One player who was expected to do that is linebacker Ernest Jones, who wears the green dot for the Rams on defense. He has been looking for a new contract though and so far has been unable to get it.
Because of that, his future with the Rams is currently up in the air. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Rams have given Jones permission to seek a trade before the start of the season:
Sources: #Rams have granted linebacker Ernest Jones IV and his agents permission to seek a trade.
Jones, a 2025 free agent, is L.A.’s defensive play caller with 145 tackles and 4.5 sacks last year. Sides discussed an extension, but with no progress, Rams open to trade. pic.twitter.com/QaMkuDj0Ko
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 25, 2024
This obviously isn’t ideal for the Rams just two weeks before they begin the season with a tough Week 1 matchup against the Detroit Lions.
Jones is coming off a career-year in which he recorded a franchise-record 145 total tackles to go along with 4.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and six passes defensed.
While Jones has missed most of training camp with an injury, the hope is still that he will be ready to go in Week 1 if the Rams don’t end up trading him first.
Ernest Jones wants to remain with Rams
This report comes as a bit of a surprise considering Ernest Jones recently said that his focus in on having a great contract year and remaining with the Rams long-term.
It doesn’t appear that contract talks have gotten anywhere though and instead of playing out his final year and hitting free agency, a trade may make sense for both parties.
Even though Jones is important to what the Rams want to do as their defensive leader, the organization traditionally has not valued the inside linebacker position much.
If Jones does end up getting traded then that would mean elevated roles for guys like Christian Rozeboom, Jacob Hummel and Omar Speights in Chris Shula’s defense.
