The Los Angeles Rams abruptly traded linebacker Ernest Jones to the Tennessee Titans this week in a move that surprised a lot of observers. Jones was
larrybrownsports.com
“I’m just going to be completely honest — I was shocked,” Jones told reporters. “We got off the flight from Houston and I got told that I’d be traded. No bad blood. There wasn’t even any contract talks. We never even talked numbers. It was just, ‘Y’all aren’t extending me? OK, we’ll play this year out.’ So I was under the impression that I was going to finish this year in L.A. and then move on, but it happened earlier. Love my guys over there, love the team that gave me my opportunity, so it’s no hard feelings on my end.”
The Rams' handling of this matter does not make sense.
That does NOT mean they were wrong to give him away ... and that trade WAS a give-away.
It just means that we fans don't know the full truth.
We can speculate and guess but ... right now ... we don't know.
What we do know is that Jones was in the final year of his rookie contract, coming off a productive season and the Rams were not going to extend him. We know Jones missed much of the off-season work-outs and Training Camp practices with knee issues that plagued him for much of 2023.
Were the Rams concerned about Jones’ long-term health?
Had he shown a significant decline in performance?
Were there frustrations
on one, or both, sides related to contract discussions?
Had Jones demonstrated any negative behavior or attitude?
No idea …
Unclear exactly what happened, or what the Team’s thought process truly was but the Rams lost their best off-ball-LB, making an average-to-good position, a Team weakness, in my opinion.