Los Angeles Rams Trade Star LB Ernest Jones to Tennessee Titans
By Matt Johnson,
2024-08-27
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Rams defense appeared to be set heading into the 2024 NFL season, with linebacker Ernest Jones stepping up as a captain of the unit. Just days after Jones popped up in NFL trade rumors, he’s been traded to the Tennessee Titans.
On Sunday, ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler announced that the Rams granted Jones and his agent permission to seek a trade. The two sides had discussed a contract extension this offseason, but failed to make significant progress toward a deal.
Ernest Jones stats ( Pro Football Reference ): 74 solo tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6 QB hits, 4.5 sacks, 6 pass deflections in 15 games
That led to the Rams’ front office allowing Jones’ representatives to explore alternative options and Los Angeles began fielding interest from other teams. While Jones initially announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he didn’t request to be moved, NFL rumors continued to point towards a potential trade.
As reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN , the Rams traded Jones to the Titans on Tuesday. The deal has since been confirmed by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic , but terms of the deal weren’t released following the announcement.
Ernest Jones contract ( Spotrac ): $3.116 million salary in 2025, NFL free agent in 2025
Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky reports that Tennessee is trading its 2026 fifth-round pick to the Rams in exchange for Jones and a 2026 sixth-round pick. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed the trade package for Jones.
Los Angeles took Jones in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-2 linebacker came along nicely as a rookie, playing 17 games with 7 starters and 440 defensive snaps played. In 2022, his snap rate increased from 43 percent to 66 percent, starting in 11-of-17 games. Jones broke out this past season, starting 15 games and playing 93 percent of the Rams’ defensive snaps.
Jones is very well-regarded around the league and was rated as the 13th-best off-ball linebacker in 2023 by Pro Football Focus. Barring a contract extension, he is expected to become one of the top NFL free agents in 2025 with a robust market thanks to the shallow pool of high-end off-ball linebackers around the league.
Rams general managed Les Snead said this spring that the team didn’t intend to extend Jones’s contract ( The Athletic ). Los Angeles originally intended to enter the 2024 season with Jones as its team captain before the recent developments leading to the NFL news on Tuesday.
As highlighted by Rodrigue, the Rams coaching staff became increasingly comfortable with the idea of trading Jones because of the emergence of linebacker Omar Speights. A former first-team All-Pac-12 linebacker at Oregon State who then transferred to LSU, Speights went undrafted in 2024.
The Rams’ defense has now lost two of its biggest leaders from last season, with Jones being traded to Tennessee and defensive tackle Aaron Donald retiring. While the Rams offense is expected to be one of the best in the NFL this season, there are significant questions regarding the inexperience and youth on the defensive side. Those questions will only grow with Jones’ departure, which will open up more snaps for an undrafted rookie.
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